Urban waste and its disposal:

Question 1

3 sources of urban waste:

Answer 1

• Industrial waste
• Commercial activity
• Personal consumption

Question 2

Industrial waste:

Answer 2

• Any waste which has been produced in the manufacturing process or from industrial activity. e.g power plants or buildings sites.

Can include metal scraps or chemicals and can be toxic.

Question 3

Commercial activity:

Answer 3

• Waste produced by businesses e.g shops and restaurants.

Often includes paper and cardboard

Question 4

Personal waste:

Answer 4

Waste produced by private homes e.g plastic bottles, food packaging or food waste.

Question 5

Relation of waste components and waste streams to economic characteristics, lifestyles and attitudes.

Answer 5

• A waste stream is the flow of waste from its origin through to its eventual disposal e.g some products may be recycled or broken down.

Waste streams and waste components depend on many things such as…

Economic characteristics:
- As countries get richer they consume more goods, developed countries produced 2.1kg waste per person a day compared to 0.6kg in developing countries.
- developed countries main components are paper and organic material whereas in developing countries it is organic material and plastic.
- No clear cut waste stream pattern

Lifestyles:
- People in rural areas produce more organic waste whereas those living in urban areas produce more manufactured waste.
- Diet affects components and waste streams

Attitudes:
- Many developed countries have a throw away culture.
- Attitudes to save environment means more recycling.

Question 6

The environmental impacts of alternative approaches to waste disposal:

Answer 6

unregulated,
recycling,
recovery,
incineration,
burial,
submergence and trade.

Question 7

Unregulated waste:

Answer 7

• Waste which is dumped illegally and not at official dump sites. e.g left on streets
• Can damage water systems
• Animals can choke on waste

Question 8

Recycling:

Answer 8

• Waste is reprocessed into new products.
• Recycling reduces the demand for raw materials which reduces environmental impacts.
• Less energy to make from scratch less GHG emitted

Question 9

Incineration:

Answer 9

• Burning of waste.
• Reduces volume of waste going into landfill and can provide energy e.g Eastcroft incinerator
• release CO2 into atmosphere

Question 10

Recovery of Waste:

Answer 10

• Using waste instead of new products
• Reduces volume of waste going to landfill and reduces the natural resources being exploited.

Question 11

Burial of waste: Also known as Landfill

Answer 11

• Waste is placed in disused mines, quarries or landfill.
• ## If sites are not controlled properly then hazardous chemicals can contaminate groundwater.

Question 12

Submergence of waste:

Answer 12

• Disposing of waste by dumping it into the oceans.
• Common off the coast in Somalia
• Can be toxic and damage ecosystems

Question 13

Trade of waste:

Answer 13

• Waste being bought and sold by countries.
• Tends to be LICS importing waste as thus provides wealth and jobs, however can negatively impact their environments.