8.3 solid domestic waste

Question 1

solid domestic waste (SDW)

Answer 1

• everyday items that we discard

Question 2

waste disposal methods

Answer 2

• landfills
• incineration
• recycling
• composting

Question 3

linear economy

Answer 3

• make products last a brief time
• thrown into landfills, useless
• waste of resources, energy and money
• damaging to the environment

Question 4

circular economy

Answer 4

• goods designed so that material re enters the system
• partially done with recycling, however not intended to be reused

Question 5

circular economy flows

Answer 5

• biological nutrients, re enter the biosphere harmlessly
• technical nutrients, circulate without re entering the biosphere, reused over and over

Question 6

non biodegradable waste

Answer 6

• won’t breakdown into simpler components
• batteries, plasti, e-waste

Question 7

plastic

Answer 7

• in almost everything we use
• majority of plastic can be recycled
• plastic made from finite resource, recycling important

Question 8

landfill

Answer 8

• hole where waste materials are buried
• lined with clay/synthetic fiber membrane, avoid leaching
• small dump site
• compacted to reduce volume
• covered in soil to prevent lighter waste blown around, contains smell

Question 9

advantages of landfills

Answer 9

• cheap method of waste disposal
• methane can be collected for energy schemes
• creates jobs
• old sites can be landscaped and used for building projects
• close to humans, reduces cost of transporting waste

Question 10

disadvantages of landfills

Answer 10

• dangerous gasses, air pollution
• explosion if methane builds up
• linings can fail and toxins can leach into environment and groundwater sources
• takes long time to settle fully for future use
• close to populations are full, travel for alternatives
• lifespan of landfills limited
• poorly managed can cause rats and flies, spread of diseases, dust, odor, visual and noise pollution
• impact local property prices in the area
• heavy vehicles, damage to roads
• marine debris, blows off poorly managed sites

Question 11

incineration

Answer 11

• combustion of waste

waste material transformed into
- ash, left after burn
- flue gas, pollutants, particulate matter
- heat, generate electricity,

Question 12

advantages of incineration

Answer 12

• reduces volume of waste by 80-85%
• useful for clinical/hazardous waste, destroys pathogens at high temperatures
• generates local heating
• emissions reduced with new technology
• can generate electricity
• avoids methane emissions from landfills
• bottom ash can be recycled in concrete
• filters remove particulates from flue gases
• retrieve metal from ashes to be recycled
• landfill space is running out

Question 13

disadvantages of incineration

Answer 13

• toxic fly ash difficult to dispose of safely
• emit toxic heavy metals
• new incinerators taking funding from renewable energy research and development
• old incinerators emit carcinogenic gases
• causes property devaluation to surrounding areas
• banned to recycle as concrete in some areas due to safety
• filters don’t remove finer particles from air emissions
• many LEDC’s make a living going through landfills, taking away livelihood
• high costs to set up

Question 14

3Rs

Answer 14

• reduce, amount of waste produced in the first place
• reuse, an item multiple times, original or another purpose
• recycle, transforming the raw material for a new object

Question 15

recycling pros and cons

Answer 15

pros
- prevents the loss of useful raw materials
- reduces consumption of new raw materials
- reduces energy usage in some areas
- reduces pollution, getting new raw materials out of the ground
- lowers the release of greenhouse gasses

cons
- difficult
- expensive

Question 16

strategy
refillable/returnable products

Answer 16

• not readily available
• difficult to implement
• often initial product more expensive and cheaper refills, not possible for lower socio economic status

Question 17

strategy
rechargeable batteries

Answer 17

• still using electricity
• most effective if electricity is from renewable energy sources

Question 18

strategy
compost organic waste

Answer 18

• possible if outside area
• not good in high density housing

Question 19

strategy
shop second hand

Answer 19

• social stigma

Question 20

strategy
buy items from recycled material

Answer 20

• expensive
• unavailable in some countries

Question 21

strategy
recycle

Answer 21

• not all countries have the option

Question 22

composting

Answer 22

• turning waste into material that can be reused, reduces amount of waste in landfills and incinerators
• combines all 3R’s

Question 23

pollution management model
eduate

Answer 23

• lowest financial cost
• alter activity producing the pollutant
• create a culture of the 3R’s
• need to recycle due to lower socio economic status

Question 24

pollution management model
legislate

Answer 24

• control release of pollutant through legislation
• generation of waste to electricity, tax credits
• taxation on landfill sites

Question 25

pollution management model remediate

Answer 25

- environmental damage, high cost - cleaning up the environment

Question 26

case study great pacific garbage patch

Answer 26

- trash vortex, marine debris, pacific ocean, high concentration of plastics pollution management model educate - failure to educate about single use plastic items and disposing trash legislate - very little legislation to stop production of single use plastic remediate - only solution left, needs to be cleared, manual removal