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EVR1001C > Chapter 17 > Flashcards

Chapter 17 Flashcards

1
Q

Waste

A

Any unwanted material or substance that results from a human activity or process

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2
Q

Municipal Solid Waste

A

Nonliquid waste from homes, institutions, and small businesses

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3
Q

Industrial Solid Waste

A

From production of goods, mining, agriculture, petroleum extraction, and refining

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4
Q

Hazardous waste

A

solid or liquid waste that is toxic, chemically reactive, flammable, or corrosive.

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5
Q

What is Source Reduction and is it preferred?

A

Minimize the amount of waste generated; it is preferred.

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6
Q

Waste stream

A

The flow of waste as it moves from its sources to its disposal destination

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7
Q

Ways to reduce/manage waste

A

Source reduction, recover waste materials and recycle them, dispose of waste safely and effectively, waste stream

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8
Q

Most US municipal solid waste consists of

A

paper, yard debris, food scraps, and plastics

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9
Q

What are the largest municipal solid waste components

A

Food scraps and plastics

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10
Q

Most of municipal solid waste comes from what and how long after they are used are they discarded?

A

packaging and nondurable goods; discarded after short time

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11
Q

As we get more goods, we generate more

A

waste

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12
Q

US citizens generate ___ lb/person/day

A

7.1

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13
Q

Critics label the US as the

A

“throwaway society”

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14
Q

US waste decreased slightly from ___ to ___

A

2005 to 2012

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15
Q

Consumption is greatly increasing in _____ nations because of ____

A

developing; rising standards of living, more packaging, poor-quality goods

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16
Q

____ consumers discard items that can still be used

A

Wealthy

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17
Q

Poor people support themselves by

A

selling items they scavenge at dumps

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18
Q

Composting

A

The conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus through natural decomposition; can be used to enrich soil

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19
Q

Home composting

A

Householders place solid waste into composting piles, underground pits, or specially constructed containers

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20
Q

Ways of home composting

A

microbial action builds up and spurs decomposition; earthworms, bacteria, and other organisms convert waste into high-quality compost

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21
Q

Leachate

A

liquid from trash dissolved by rainwater; collected and treated in landfills; collection systems must be maintained for 30 years after a landfill is closed

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22
Q

In 1988, the US had __ landfills, but today, there are fewer than ___, but they are large

A

8000; 2000

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23
Q

Cities convert closed landfills into

A

Public parks, stadiums, gardens, wetlands, and festival events

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24
Q

In 2012 in the US__% of waste was recycled or composted

A

35%

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25
Q

Effects of ___ nations invest in waste collection and disposal

A

wealthier; efforts minimize impacts on health and the environment; recycling and composting are decreasing pressure on landfills

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26
Q

Sanitary landfills

A

waste buried in the ground or piled in large mounds to prevent contamination and health threats

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27
Q

US landfills must meet ___ standards under ____ Act

A

EPA’s national standards; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

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28
Q

Waste is partly _____ and compresses under its own weight to make more space

A

decomposed by bacteria

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29
Q

What reduces odor of landfills

A

soil layers reduce odor, speed decomposition, reduce infestation by pests; closed landfills must be capped

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30
Q

Despite improved technology blank can be punctured

A

Liners

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31
Q

Will leachate collection systems be kept up

A

No

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32
Q

How long does it take for waste to decay

A

Decades

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33
Q

Not in my backyard (NIMBY) syndrome

A

Residence don’t want landfills in their areas; Wealthy educated people have the political clout to prevent landfills from being cited in their neighborhoods

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34
Q

landfills are disproportionately cited in _ _communities

A

poor and minority

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35
Q

Wave to energy facility (WTE)

A

Use the heat produced by waste combustion to create electricity

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36
Q

What does Source reduction

A

Prevents waste in the first place; avoids cost of disposal and recycling; helps conserve resources and minimize pollution ; saves consumers and businesses money

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37
Q

Most waste consists of

A

Materials used to package goods

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38
Q

Fly ash

A

Particulate matter that can be very toxic

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39
Q

Scrubbers

A

Chemically treat emissions to remove hazardous chemicals and neutralize acidic gases

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40
Q

Incineration

A

A controlled process that burns garbage at very high temperatures

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41
Q

Are metals removed in the furnace

A

Yes

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42
Q

Hazardous waste

A

A liquid, solid, or gas that is either ignitable, corosive, reactive, or toxic

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43
Q

Ignitable hazardous waste

A

easily catches fire ( natural gas, alcohol)

44
Q

Corrosive Hazardous Waste

A

corrodes metal in storage tanks or equipment

45
Q

Reactive Hazardous Waste

A

chemically unstable and readily reacts with other compounds (often explosively or by producing noxious fumes)

46
Q

Toxic Hazardous Waste

A

Harms human health when inhaled, ingested, or touched

47
Q

Recycling and composting is growing slowly or rapidly

A

rapidly

48
Q

Some local governments are trying to reduce ________________.

A

Plastic bags

49
Q

What are 3 ways that plastic bags are harmful to the environment?

A
  • Grocery bags can take centuries to decompose
  • They choke and entangle wildlife and cause litter
  • 100 billion of them are discarded each year in the US
50
Q

Many governments have banned _______________________ bags.

A

Non-biodegradable

51
Q

Tax on bags gives financial incentive to use other bags such as:

A

Consumers bring their own bags

52
Q

Recycling consists of 3 steps, what are those steps?

A

Step 1: collection and processing of recyclable materials through curbside recycling or designated locations.(MRF’s= Materials recovery facilities Where workers and machines sort, clean, shredded, and repair items)

Step 2: using recyclables to produce new goods (such as glass, metal, paper, plastics use recycled materials)

Step 3: Consumers buy goods made from recycled materials

53
Q

One financial incentive to help address waste is the “pay as you throw approach”. What does this mean?

A

Residents are charged according to how much trash they put out.

(The less waste, the less a person has to pay)

54
Q

One financial incentive to help address waste is “bottle bills”, what is this?

A

Consumers receive a refund for returning used bottles and cans to stores

These bills are effective and popular

Container of litter is reduced 69-84%

Total litter is reduced by 30-64%

States are beginning or expanding their programs

55
Q

By using “bottle bills”, container litter is reduced ___________ and total litter is reduced by ____________.

A

Container litter= 69-84%

Total litter= 30-64%

56
Q

States are beginning or expanding their programs for _________________

A

“ bottle bills”

57
Q

What are MRF’s and what does it stand for?

A

Materials recovery facilities-Workers and machines sort, clean, shred, and prepare items

58
Q

Deep-well injection process

A

A well is drilled deep beneath the water table; Waste is injected into it; A long-term disposal method
The well is isolated from groundwater and humans
but the wells can corrode and leak waste

59
Q

Surface Impoundments process

A

Store liquid hazardous waste; Shallow depressions are lined with plastic and clay; The liquid or slurry evaporates; The residue of solid hazardous waste is transported elsewhere for disposal

60
Q

Are surface impoundments temporary? why?

A

Yes; The clay layer can crack and leak waste; Rainstorms cause overflow, contaminating nearby areas

61
Q

Thousands of former military and industrial sites are contaminated with

A

Hazardous waste

62
Q

Dealing with ___ messes is hard, time-consuming, and expensive

A

Hazardous waste

63
Q

Superfund is administered by ___ and it is a federal program to

A

the EPA; to clean up U.S. sites polluted with hazardous waste

64
Q

U.S. industries generate __ billion tons of waste per year; __% is wastewater

A

7.6; 97%

65
Q

Brownfields

A

Lands whose reuse or development is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials

66
Q

Polluter Pays Principle (but)

A

charge polluting parties for cleanup, but the responsible parties often can’t be found

67
Q

Are more cleanups are being completed?

A

No; fewer

68
Q

E-waste is growing.

What is electronic waste?

A

Waste involving electronic devices Such as: computers, printers, cell phones, TVs, MP3 players

69
Q

Americans discard __________ million devices per year and _____ still work

A

300 million

3/4

70
Q

________________ are put in landfills but should be treated as hazardous waste

A

Electronics

71
Q

Valuable trace minerals can be recovered. The 2010 Olympic medals were made from _________________.

A

E waste

72
Q

Heavy metals can be hazardous. What are some heavy metal names?

A

Lead, chromium, Mercury, arsenic, cadmium, tin, and copper

73
Q

Where do the hazardous heavy metals come from?

A

They are used widely in industry for wiring, electronics, metal plating and fabrication, pigments, and dyes

They enter the environment when they are disposed of improperly

74
Q

Heavy metals that are ________________________ and break down slowly can bioaccumulate and biomagnify.

A

Fat soluble

75
Q

Hazardous waste disposal is costly and often results in ______________________.

A

Illegal dumping

76
Q

________________________ creates health risks along with financial headaches for dealing with it.

A

Illegal dumping

77
Q

Industrial nations illegally dump in ___________________________.

A

Developing nations

78
Q

______________________ do not lessen the hazards of the substances but they help keep the substance isolated from people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

A

Landfills

79
Q
  • Their design and construction standards are stricter than those for ordinary sanitary landfills
  • Must have several in pervious liners and leachate removal systems
  • Must be located far from aquifers
A

Hazardous waste landfills

80
Q

under the ________________________: The EPA set standards, but the states manage hazardous waste.

A

RCRA-Resource conservation and recovery act

81
Q

Large generators of hazardous waste must obtain _______________.

A

Permits

82
Q

Under the resource conservation and recovery act(RCRA) materials must be tracked from:

A

“Cradle to grave”

83
Q

The resource conservation and recovery act (RCRA) is intended to prevent what?

A

Illegal dumping

84
Q

Most methods and strategies of waste disposal, reduction, and recycling are similar to those for:

A

Municipal solid waste

85
Q

Industrial waste generation:

Industries may not be required to have permits or install liners or __________________ collection systems.

A

Leachate

86
Q

Industries may not even be required to monitor _______________________ for contamination.

A

Groundwater

87
Q

It may be __________________ to generate waste then to avoid it… Industries are awarded for economic, not physical, efficiency.

A

Cheaper

88
Q

___ sites remain, and only ___ have been cleaned up

A

1326; 375

89
Q

A ___ was established by a federal tax on the petroleum and chemical industries for PPP but

A

trust fund; the fund is bankrupt, and Congress has not restored it; taxpayers now pay all costs of cleanup

90
Q

Once a Superfund site is identified, EPA scientists note:

A

How close the site is to human habitation
Whether wastes are currently confined or likely to spread
Whether the site threatens drinking water supplies

91
Q

Harmful sites that are placed on the National Priority List are

A

Ranked by their level of risk to human health

Cleanup occurs as funds are available

92
Q

The EPA must hold ____ to inform area residents of its findings and to receive feedback

A

public hearings

93
Q

Industrial solid waste

A

Is not municipal or hazardous waste

Comes from factories, mining, agriculture, petroleum extraction, etc.

94
Q

U.S. industries generate __ billion tons of waste per year

A

7.6

95
Q

The federal government regulates _____; Examples:

A

municipal solid waste; States and local governments regulate industrial solid waste (with federal guidance); State and local rules are less strict than federal rules

96
Q

Businesses are saving or losing money while reducing waste

A

saving

97
Q

Reduced waste and adapted its ___ to use landfill gas for energy; Cut waste generation by __%, fossil fuel use by __%, and water use by __%; Saved $__ million/year, held prices steady, and raised profits by __%

A

Boilers; 80%; 45%; 70%; 30; 49%

98
Q

___ produces the largest amount of hazardous waste but waste generation and disposal are highly regulated

A

Industry

99
Q

___ are the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste

A

households; Paint, batteries, solvents, cleaners, pesticides, etc.

100
Q

Many hazardous substances become less or more hazardous over time but others may be especially persistent (e.g.,

A

less; radioactive waste, organic compounds, heavy metals

101
Q

Do synthetic organic compounds resist bacterial, fungal, and insect activity (example)
Plastics, tires, pesticides, solvents, wood preservatives
Keep buildings from decaying, kill pests, and keep stored goods intact

A

yes; plastics, tires, pesticides, solvents, wood preservatives
Keep buildings from decaying, kill pests, and keep stored goods intact

102
Q

Synthetic organic compounds resist (examples)

A

bacterial, fungal, and insect activity (ex: plastics, tires, pesticides, solvents, wood preservatives)

103
Q

Synthetic organic compounds

A

keeps buildings from decaying, kill pests, and keep stored goods intact

104
Q

Are synthetic organic compounds persistent pollutants

A

Yes, their resistance to decay makes them persistent pollutants;

105
Q

Why are synthetic organic compounds toxic

A

They are toxic because they are readily absorbed through the skin

106
Q

What can synthetic organic material act as

A

They act as mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens, or endocrine disruptors

EVR1001C (11 decks)

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