Waste

Question 1

What is used to line the bottom of landfills?

Answer 1

Clay, so that toxic metals (lead, mercury) aren’t leaced through.

Question 2

What is a liquid containing an elevated level of pollutants as a result of passing through a landfill

Answer 2

Leachate

Question 3

What are the ways waste can be disposed?

Answer 3

Incineration, recycling, landfills

Question 4

What things are okay to dispose in a landfill?

Answer 4

Cardboard, woods, paper, plastic, food, glass

Question 5

What is not okay to dispose in a landfill?

Answer 5

Electronics, batteries, wires, copper, aluminum, and organic waste (food) that produce methane

Question 6

What type of building does most waste come from?

Answer 6

Domestic buildings (homes)…. 60%. Industrial buildings make up 20%

Question 7

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Answer 7

Solid waste collected by municipalities produced by houses and businesses, and institutions such as schools prisons, municipal buildings and hospitals.

Question 8

What makes up solid municipal waste

Answer 8

Paper, food, and yard waste make up more than half:

23% paper/cardboard
12% yard trimmings
22% food
12% plastics
6% wood
9% metals
2% electronics.

Question 9

Developed countries produce a lot ___ municipal waste

Answer 9

More… .8kg to 2.2kg

Question 10

Solid waste producing has ___ in agriculture, residence, buisness, and industrial activities.

Answer 10

Increased. We used to recycle more, but now manufacture single use objects.

Question 11

Waste stream

Answer 11

The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid landfill, or disposed in some other way.

Question 12

Sanitary landfills

Answer 12

An engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal Solid waste with as little contamination do the surrounding environment as possible.

Question 13

Toxic materials include

Answer 13

Household cleaners, oil based paints, and automotive additives

Question 14

Landfills are closed with _____ cap in order to

Answer 14

A mix of soil, clay and plastic to encourage water to flow off to the sides rather than into the landfill

Question 15

Tipping fee

Answer 15

A fee charged for trucks that deliver and tip solid waste into a landfill or incinerator.

Question 16

The soil of a landfill should be

Answer 16

loam, clay loam, or soil lined with clay/plastic.

Question 17

Landfills should be build far way from people, but

Answer 17

lower-income neighborhoods who don’t have the resources to mount an effective opposition against landfills.

Question 18

Candidates for incineration include

Answer 18

Paper, plastic, food, and yard waste since they all contain hydrogen, oxygen and carbon.

Question 19

Incineration

Answer 19

Process of burning solid waste in order to reduce volume, mass, and sometimes produce electricity and heat.

Question 20

First step in incineration

Answer 20

Recyclable material are sorted out, and waste with high concentrations of metals are sorted out.

Question 21

Second step in incineration

Answer 21

Waste is combusted to release water, carbon dioxide, and produces ash as by-product. Air pollutant emissions are prevented with baghouse filters- and scrubbers.

Question 22

Third step in incineration

Answer 22

Disposal of ash. Low concentrations go to landfill, higher concentrations of toxic medals go to landfill specifically for toxic substances.

Question 23

Compounds (nitrogen/sulfur oxides) found in plastic/metal in waste and other emissions are controlled by ___, while hydrogen chloride is collected through a

Answer 23

Collectors - baghouse filters-

Question 24

Waste-to-energy system

Answer 24

Heat generated from incineration is used as energy source rather than released into the surrounding environment.

Question 25

Since the ocean circulates

Answer 25

there are trash piles circulating the Northern Hemisphere of the ocean.

Question 26

Electronic waste is more expensive to

Answer 26

recycle than to put in a landfill

Question 27

Downside of incineration

Answer 27

Plants are expensive to build + tipping fees are higher, ash has concentrated minerals, air pollution, and uneven combustion.

Question 28

Majority of hazardous waste is from

Answer 28

industrial processes such as textile production, cleaning machinery, + small businesses like dry cleaners, automobile service stations + household batteries, oven cleaners, and fertilizers.... "special waste" (coal ash) from combustion of fossil fuels.

Question 29

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CRCLA) A.K.A. Superfund Act

Answer 29

A 1980 federal act that imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, uses those funds for cleanup of abandoned and non-operating hazardous waste sites, and authorizes the federal government to respond directly to the release or threatened release of substances that may pose a threat to human health or the environment.

Question 30

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Answer 30

1976 federal act that maintains "cradle-to-grave" tracking, keeps a list of hazardous wastes and works with businesses and state and local authorities to both minimize hazardous waste generation and track the waste until disposal.

Question 31

Four characteristics of hazardous waste (cause harm)

Answer 31

Ignitability, toxicity, corrosivity,and reactivity.

Question 32

Toxicity (cause harm through chemical means)

Answer 32

Chemical components that are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed through skin - a category of hazardous waste that causes harm when ingested or absorbed through skin)

Question 33

E-waste contains

Answer 33

heavy metals like mercury and lead

Question 34

Open Landfill Cons

Answer 34

-Poor containment of solid waste and leachate -Odor -Flammable -Animal Disturbance -Poor aesthetic value

Question 35

Landfills are a significant produce of ___ gas

Answer 35

Methane- 15%

Question 36

Can dispose of methane from landfills by

Answer 36

Lighting it on fire (changes to CO2) or using it for energy.

Question 37

Legislation that applies to incineration

Answer 37

Clean Air Act- air pollution from incineration must be controlled. Carbon dioxide is not part of this legislation.

Question 38

Problem associated with tires

Answer 38

Tires create breeding grounds for mosquitoes (shallow water), which carry diseases like malaria (are disease vectors) Tires can catch fire and release air pollutants that cause respiratory illness in humans

Question 39

Solid waste in ocean problems

Answer 39

-Organisms caught in necks- unable to reach surface to breath, hunt, and eat. Mistake trash (plastic bag) as food, clog digestive system/think they are full -Plastic breaks down into microplastics bioaccumulate in organism and food chain. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBS)

Question 40

Which best describes why hazardous waste disposal in the US could become an international issue?

Answer 40

lower disposal costs elsewhere encourage US industries to export waste

Question 41

Household hazardous waste includes

Answer 41

items such as paints and oils

Question 42

electronic waste is more expensive to

Answer 42

recycle than to put in a landfill