Chapter 16 - Solid Waste Flashcards
Throw-away society
A human society strongly influenced by consumerism and consists of overconsumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Refuse collected by municipalities from households, small businesses, and institutions.
Waste Stream
The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid waste landfill, or disposed of in another way.
E-waste
Component of MSW that consists of consumer electronics that accounts to 2% of the waste stream
Reduce
minimizing waste
Reuse
Using a product or material that was intended to be discarded.
Recycle
The process by which materials destined to become municipal solid waste (MSW) are collected and converted into raw material that is then used to produce new objects.
Closed-loop recycling
Recycling a product into the same product.
Open-loop recycling
Recycling one product into a different product.
Composting
Creation of organic matter (humus) by decomposition under controlled conditions to produce an organic-rich material that enhances soil structure, cation exchange capacity, and fertility.
Leachate
Liquid that contains elevated levels of pollutants as a result of having passed through municipal solid waste (MSW) or contaminated soil.
Sanitary Landfill
An engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal solid waste (MSW) with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible.
Cap
market-based policy tool for protecting human health and the environment by controlling large amounts of emissions from a group of sources.
Liner
a large luxurious passenger ship of a type formerly used on a regular line
Leachate collection system
A system that gathers leachate and pumps it to the surface for treatment
Methane collection system
Are now commonly installed at landfill sites and these can reduce emissions to the atmosphere by more than half
Tipping fee
A fee charged for disposing of material in a landfill or incinerator.
Landfill Siting
designation of a location for a landfill, typically through a regulatory process involving studies, written reports, and public hearings
Incineration
The process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes to generate electricity or heat.
Bottom Ash
Residue collected at the bottom of the combustion chamber in a furnace.
Fly Ash
The residue collected from the chimney or exhaust pipe of a furnace.
Waste-to-energy system
A system in which heat generated by incineration is used as an energy source rather than released into the atmosphere.
Hazardous waste
Liquid, solid, gaseous, or sludge waste material that is harmful to humans or ecosystems.
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that expanded solid waste laws. Its Are goal was to protect human health and the natural environment by reducing or eliminating the generation of hazardous waste
CERLA (Superfund)
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act or the Superfund Act. It imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries,
Love Canal
Hooker Chemical sealed chemical wastes into steel drums and dumped into an old Canal
National priorities list
list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial cleanup financed under the Superfund program
Brownfield
Contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded.
Life-cycle analysis
A systems tool that looks at the materials used and released throughout the lifetime of a product—from the procurement of raw materials through their manufacture, use, and disposal. Also known as cradle-to-grave analysis.
Integrated Waste Management
An approach to waste disposal that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies in order to reduce the environmental impact of MSW.
Bioremediation Dump
Bacteria or enzymes help destroy toxic and hazardous waste or convert them to more benign substances
Materials recovery facility
Machines separate waste to recover recyclable materials from household wastes. These plants are expensive and can emit toxic air pollutants if not run properly.
Phytoremediation
is the direct use of living green plants for in situ, or in place, removal, degradation, or containment of contaminants in soils, sludges, sediments, surface water and groundwater
NIMBY
a person who objects to the siting of something perceived as unpleasant or potentially dangerous in their own neighborhood, such as a landfill or hazardous waste facility, especially while raising no such objections to similar developments elsewhere.
Planned Obsolence
a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.
