More Urban Waste

Question 1

Recycling

Answer 1

. Process of converting waste materials into new materials / objects
+
Reduces pollutions
Environmentally friendly
Minimises GW
Minimises Landfill
Manages resource consumption
-
Cost to build recycling centre
Unhygienic centre
Some materials not recyclable
Requires energy and chemicals as part of process
E.g.
UK household waste recycled went from 17%-44% (2003-2013)
Coke – aim to make all packaging recyclable by 2025 and paid for 1million recycling bins

Question 2

Incineratoration

Answer 2

. Destruction of something by burning it – sometimes to generate energy
\+
Decreases amount of waste
Efficient waste management
Production of heat and power
Can trap pollutants in factory
Saves on transportation of waste
-
Expensive to build factories
Can pollute environment
Can Damage public health
Environmental Racism – poorer areas worse affected
E.g.
Deprived areas are 3X more likely to host incinerates

Question 3

Burial (landfill)

Answer 3

. Holes in the ground where rubbish is dumped
+
Built with a lining to prevent leaking
Safe containment of our waste
Once full it is sometimes possible to reuse the land for alternative purposes (building)
-
Smells bad
Unattractive
Requires actual land to bury in – we are running out of appropriate space
E.g.
England has a landfill capacity of 405 million m3
500 landfill sites in UK
Landfill has increased in UK by 4% in 2019
Likely increase in 2020 due to COVID

Question 4

Submergence

Answer 4

. Waste placed into water to dispose of it
\+
Cheap
Doesn’t take up landfill space
Waste islands in the sea can be used for industry
-
It can change water levels
Pollutes water
Kills marine life
Can get into the foodchain
E.g.
Tokyo Bay has a manmade island of waste

Question 5

Trade

Answer 5

. Exporting of HIC waste to LIC
+
HICs do not have to deal with their waste
Can provide employment for large numbers of people LICs and NEES
-
LICs have little regulations for health and safety – exploitation
Electronic waste (E-Waste) can contaminate water supplies
Increase in Greenhouse gases from transportation
E.g.
50% - 80% of US E-Waste is exported

Question 6

Recovery

Answer 6

. Using waste for another purpose. -energy, recycling etc
+
Reduces fossil carbon content (instead of in landfill)
Saving in raw material and waste disposal cost
Less environmental issues with disposal
-
Expensive to set up
Requires everyone in the system to work together to be effective
E.g.
Striping electrical components to reuse the wires
Extracting precious metals from mobiles phones to be reused

Question 7

Most favoured waste cycle option

Answer 7

1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
4. Recovery
5. Landfill
6. Incineration
7. Controlled dumping

Question 8

Global waste generation

Answer 8

. The world generates 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually
. Unless urgent action is taken, global waste will incraese 70% by 2050
. If every citizen was a wasteful as UK citizens we would need 8 worlds to supply global requirements

Question 9

Reduce

Answer 9

The quantity of wast by reducing packaging and consumption

Question 10

Reuse

Answer 10

Products/containers. For example, some outlets now encourage you to bring your old containers to fill up items like washing liquid

Question 11

Recycle

Answer 11

Carried out when materials from the item are reprocessed into new products. In recent year global demand for recyclables has grown.

Question 12

Recovery

Answer 12

(Urban mining) is the process of recovering compounds and elements from products, buildings + waste materials e.g. composting

Question 13

Landfill

Answer 13

Placing waste into man made holes

Question 14

Incineration (with energy recovery)

Answer 14

Can reduce waste volume up to 90%. Can be safely burned to make heat and electricity.

Question 15

Controlled dumping

Answer 15

Carefully choosing a site to dispose of hazardous materials.