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Environmental Systems > Solid Domestic Waste > Flashcards

Solid Domestic Waste Flashcards

1
Q

What is solid domestic waste?

A 
Our rubbish from residential and urban areas
A mixture of
- paper
- packaging
- organic materials
- plastics

Although it only makes up 5% of total waste, it is waste that we can control

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2
Q

What is SDW production per capita per day in USA and EU

A

USA 3.5kg

EU 1.4kg

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3
Q

What is waste?

A

Waste is material that has no value to its producer

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4
Q

What is the circular economy?

A

The circular economy is a model that is sustainable. It aims to:

  • be restorative of the environment
  • use renewable energy sources
  • eliminate // reduce toxic wastes
  • eradicate wast through careful deign
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5
Q

How does the circular economy work?

A
  • The model relies on manufactures + producers retaining ownership of their products + so being responsible for recycling them
  • The producers act as service providers, selling user of their products, no the products themselves
  • This means they can take them back, refurbish them + return them to the market
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6
Q

Strategies to minimise waste // reduce

A
  • maintaining possessions to last longer
  • buy things that will last
  • look for items w less packaging
  • choose products that are energy efficient
  • avoid things that are imported
  • be aware of how many resources you are using in home eg. water, electricity…
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7
Q

Strategies to minimise waste // reuse

A
  • returnable bottles
  • compost food waste
  • use old clothes as cleaning rags
  • hire DVDs - don’t buy them
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8
Q

Strategies to minimise waste // recycle

A

Recycling involves collecting + separating waste materials and processing them for reuse

eg. in Germany each household has 4 bins for this

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9
Q

5 environmental benefits of using recycled plastic

A
  • reduction of energy consumption by 2/3
  • production of only 1/3 of the sulphur dioxide + 1/2 the nitrous oxide
  • 90% reduction of water consumption
  • reduction of co2 generation by two-and-a-half times
  • 1.8tonnes of oil saved for every tonne of recycled polythene produced
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10
Q

Ireland has a tax on their plastic bags. What has been the result?

A

A tax on the bags resulted in a decrease in their use of 95%

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11
Q

Wales has a 5p charge on plastic bags. In its first 3 years, what was the result?

A

The scheme in Wales saw a reduction in plastic bag consumption of 79% in its first 3 years

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12
Q

If waste materials are not recycled or reused, what are the options for waste disposal?

A
  • put waste in landfill sites
  • incinerate waste
  • dump it in the sea
  • compost organic waste
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13
Q

How do landfill sites work?

A
  • waste is taken to suitable site + buried
  • hazardous waste buried too
  • initial cost is relatively cheap
  • landfill sites carefully selected to be not too close to high pop. density, water courses + aquifers
  • lined w plastic to prevent leachate seeping
  • leachate is collected in pipes
  • methane produced from fermenting organic material is used to make electricity // released to atmosphere
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14
Q

How do incinerators work?

A
  • Burn waste at high temps
  • In some, waste is pre-sorted to remove incombustible // recyclable materials
  • heat produced used for electricity //heat buildings (waste-to-energy incineration)
  • In others, all waste is burned but this causes air pollution eg. dioxins
  • Take up less space than landfill but expensive to build
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15
Q

What is anaerobic digestion?

A

Biodegradable matter is broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. Methane produced can be used as fuel + the waste later used as fertiliser // soil conditioner

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16
Q

SDW management // altering human activity producing pollutant

A
  • reduce packaging
  • recycle goods
  • reuse clothes, goods, containers
  • compost organic matter
17
Q

SDW management // controlling release of pollutant

A
  • separate waste into diff. types
  • legislate about waste separation
  • educate for waste separation
  • tax disposable items
18
Q

SDW management // clean-up and restoration

A
  • reclaim landfills
  • incinerate SDW for energy
  • collect plastics eg. from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
19
Q

What is the carrying capacity?

A

Carrying capacity is the maximum number of a species that can be sustainably supported by a given area

20
Q

Why is it so hard to estimate the carrying capacity for human populations?

A

> Humans use a greater range of resources than any other animal
We substitute resources when they run out eg. solar energy instead of oil
Resource use varies from person to person//country to country
We import resources, so we can’t just look to local environment to see how many people it can support
Developments in technology eg. more efficient machines may mean we use less or we may use more as we can exploit new resources (eg shale oil)

21
Q

How may ecocentrics try to change human carrying capacity ?

A
  • reduce use of non-renewables
  • minimise use of renewables
  • some become self-sufficient // use solar cells for their electricity, use rainwater + grey water for their water supply, grow own food
22
Q

How may technocentrics try to change human carrying capacity?

A
  • may argue human carry capacity can be expanded continuously through technological innovation
23
Q

What do economists say about changing human carrying capacity ?

A
  • conventional economists argue trade + technology increase carrying capacity
  • ecological economists say technological innovation can only increase efficiency w which natural capital is used
  • inc. efficiency may all load on ecosystem to increase, but carrying capacity is fixed + once reached can’t be sustainably exceeded
24
Q

What are absolute reductions ?

A
  • Absolute reduction means that we can simply use fewer resources eg. less energy
  • But advantages of reductions in resource use eg. increased carrying capacity are often eroded by pop. increase
25
Q

What is an ecological footprint?

A

The area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living

26
Q

Where the Ecological Footprint (EF) is greater than the area available to the population, what is this an indicator of?

A

This is an indication of unsustainability as the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the population

27
Q

What are ecological creditors?

A

Have smaller ecological footprints than their biocapacity (living capacity or natural resources)

28
Q

What are ecological debtors?

A

Have larger ecological footprints than their biocapacity

Environmental Systems (30 decks)

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