Chapter 16 - Solid Waste

Question 1

Throw-away society

Answer 1

A human society strongly influenced by consumerism and consists of overconsumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items

Question 2

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Answer 2

Refuse collected by municipalities from households, small businesses, and institutions.

Question 3

Waste Stream

Answer 3

The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid waste landfill, or disposed of in another way.

Question 4

E-waste

Answer 4

Component of MSW that consists of consumer electronics that accounts to 2% of the waste stream

Question 5

Reduce

Answer 5

minimizing waste

Question 6

Reuse

Answer 6

Using a product or material that was intended to be discarded.

Question 7

Recycle

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Closed-loop recycling

Answer 8

Recycling a product into the same product.

Question 9

Open-loop recycling

Answer 9

Recycling one product into a different product.

Question 10

Composting

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

Leachate

Answer 11

Liquid that contains elevated levels of pollutants as a result of having passed through municipal solid waste (MSW) or contaminated soil.

Question 12

Sanitary Landfill

Answer 12

An engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal solid waste (MSW) with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible.

Question 13

Cap

Answer 13

market-based policy tool for protecting human health and the environment by controlling large amounts of emissions from a group of sources.

Question 14

Liner

Answer 14

a large luxurious passenger ship of a type formerly used on a regular line

Question 15

Leachate collection system

Answer 15

A system that gathers leachate and pumps it to the surface for treatment

Question 16

Methane collection system

Answer 16

Are now commonly installed at landfill sites and these can reduce emissions to the atmosphere by more than half

Question 17

Tipping fee

Answer 17

A fee charged for disposing of material in a landfill or incinerator.

Question 18

Landfill Siting

Answer 18

designation of a location for a landfill, typically through a regulatory process involving studies, written reports, and public hearings

Question 19

Incineration

Answer 19

The process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes to generate electricity or heat.

Question 20

Bottom Ash

Answer 20

Residue collected at the bottom of the combustion chamber in a furnace.

Question 21

Fly Ash

Answer 21

The residue collected from the chimney or exhaust pipe of a furnace.

Question 22

Waste-to-energy system

Answer 22

A system in which heat generated by incineration is used as an energy source rather than released into the atmosphere.

Question 23

Hazardous waste

Answer 23

Liquid, solid, gaseous, or sludge waste material that is harmful to humans or ecosystems.

Question 24

RCRA

Answer 24

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

Question 25

CERLA (Superfund)

Answer 25

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act or the Superfund Act. It imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries,

Question 26

Love Canal

Answer 26

Hooker Chemical sealed chemical wastes into steel drums and dumped into an old Canal

Question 27

National priorities list

Answer 27

list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial cleanup financed under the Superfund program

Question 28

Brownfield

Answer 28

Contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded.

Question 29

Life-cycle analysis

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

Integrated Waste Management

Answer 30

An approach to waste disposal that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies in order to reduce the environmental impact of MSW.

Question 31

Bioremediation Dump

Answer 31

Bacteria or enzymes help destroy toxic and hazardous waste or convert them to more benign substances

Question 32

Materials recovery facility

Answer 32

Machines separate waste to recover recyclable materials from household wastes. These plants are expensive and can emit toxic air pollutants if not run properly.

Question 33

Phytoremediation

Answer 33

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

Question 34

NIMBY

Answer 34

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.

Question 35

Planned Obsolence

Answer 35

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.