Landfills and Recycling Centers Research

(10 points)

Procedure:Look up the following information on landfills and recycling Centers and record answers in your notebook using complete sentences.

  1. What laws regulate landfills?
  2. What government agency oversees landfills?
  3. How do landfills work?
  4. Find 5 things that are forbidden from being put in a landfill.
  5. Draw a picture of a landfill, showing the different layers that are required and how each day’s trash must be covered. Label your drawing in detail.
  6. List at least 5 diseases/disorders that have been attributed to older “dumps”.
  7. How do recycling centers work?
  8. Who purchases recycled materials from recycling centers?
  9. What type of recycled material is there the biggest demand for?
  10. What is done with materials that are recycled, but no company is interested in buying?
  11. In Los Angeles, where is the nearest recycling center?
  12. Describe what the future looks like in regards to landfills.
  13. Describe what the future looks like in regards to recycling centers.
  14. What are some problems you see regarding landfills?
  15. What are some problems you see regarding recycling centers?
  16. The city of Fremont has a large brownfield located along the Fremont River. The brownfield is a former industrial site where contamination by hazardous chemicals impedes redevelopment. The city council is considering two options for reclaiming the brownfield. The first option is to excavate and remove the contaminated soil, and the second option is to decontaminate the soil on the site using vegetation.
  1. Assume that the city council chooses the first option. Describe TWO problems that result from removing the contaminated soil from the brownfield.
  2. Assume that the city council chooses the second option. Explain how vegetation could be used to decontaminate the soil. Discuss one advantage and one disadvantage of using this reclamation method.
  3. Describe and explain one environmental benefit and one societal benefit of brownfield reclamation.
  4. Identify and describe
  1. One method currently used to reduce the production of hazardous waste
  2. One method of legally disposing of hazardous waste
  1. Approximately 30 million mobile devices were sold in 1998 in the United States. The number sold increased to 180 million devices in 2007.

(a) Calculate the percent increase of mobile device sales from 1998 to 2007.

(b) Each mobile device sold in 2007 contained an average of 0.03 gram of gold. Calculate the number of grams of gold that were used in the production of the mobile devices sold in 2007.

(c) Assume that the average mass of each mobile device was 0.1 kilogram. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 10 percent of the mobile devices sold in 2007 were recycled. Calculate the mass (in kilograms) of the mobile devices sold in 2007 that were not recycled.

(d) Discarded mobile devices become part of the electronic waste stream (e-waste). Mercury is often present in e-waste. Identify one negative human health effect, other than death, associated with exposure to mercury.

(e) Improper disposal of e-waste has harmed human health and caused environmental damage in developing countries.

(i) State TWO reasons why large quantities of e-waste from the United States are shipped to developing countries rather than being recycled in the United States.

(ii) Retailers or manufacturers could take specific steps to dramatically reduce the amount of e-waste. Describe a realistic change in current practices that would accomplish this.