Chapter 17 solid waste

Question 1

What is waste?

Answer 1

products of human creation that are no longer wanted and so are ‘thrown away.’

Question 2

What is defined as Municipal Solid Waste

Answer 2

all waste created in homes and businesses

Question 3

Waste can be…

Answer 3

1. Non-degradable: cannot be broken down (mostly made of synthetic molecules)
2. Biodegradable: can be broken down over time, often by microbes

Question 4

Where does most of Canada’s solid waste come from? where else?

Answer 4

Most of Canada’s solid waste comes from the oil and gas industry, also from mining and then livestock manure and municipal solid waste. (MSW= 3%)

Question 5

Where does our waste end up?

Answer 5

70% of our garbage is landfilled, 25% is recycled or composted, and then 5% is incinerated.

Question 6

Pros and cons of incinerating waste?

Answer 6

Pros: reduces the volume of waste drastically- bout 80-90%
Cons: pollutes air, expensive

Question 7

What is composting

Answer 7

the process of allowing waste to biologically decompose into a soil-like mulch that can be used for gardening and landscaping

Question 8

What is life cycle analysis?

Answer 8

the assessment of a products environmental impact at every stage of the products life: from production, to use, to disposal.

Question 9

What is an eco-industrial park?

Answer 9

an industrial area in which one company’s trash can become another’s raw material

Question 10

What can we, the consumer, do to prevent the build-up of waste?

Answer 10

• Refuse: to buy shitty products
• Reduce: consumption
• Reuse: use it again
• Recycle