Waste Managment

Question 1

Which countries produce almost half the world’s waste?

Answer 1

the OECD countries

Question 2

Which countries produce the least waste?

Answer 2

Africa and South Asia

Question 3

Which countries waste is increasing fastest?

Answer 3

East Asia, East Europe, Middle East

Question 4

How much is waste generation expected to increase by 2025?

Answer 4

70%

Question 5

How much waste does Canada produce per capita?

Answer 5

777kg

Question 6

What affects generation of waste?

Answer 6

GDP, people per household, economy type (service industries produce less waste)

Preference for disposable items

Environment concern

Question 7

What do we do with solid waste?

Answer 7

Recycle, incinerate, open dumps, sanitary landfills

Question 8

Where does 75% of Canada’s solid waste go and 66% of Europe’s?

Answer 8

Landfills

Question 9

Which countries incinerate the most?

Answer 9

Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg

Question 10

Which countries recycle or compost the most?

Answer 10

Netherlands, Germany, Austria

Question 11

Which countries landfill the most?

Answer 11

Greece, Portugal, UK

Question 12

Impacts of landfills

Answer 12

Require land

Pollute groundwater, soil, atmo

Disease vectors - rats, flies

Nuisance problems - dust, smell, noise

Question 13

How do landfills pollute?

Answer 13

Leachates enter water systems

Heavy metal contamination

CO2 and CH4 emissions

Question 14

Outline open landfills

Answer 14

Waste can directly release waste to surroundings

Common in developing nations

Scavengers often set on fire

2% of people in Asia and Latin America earn income by scavenging

Question 15

Outline Sanitary Landfills

Answer 15

Synthetic or clay liner to contain waste

Waste spread out in layers and compacted - each layer covered in clay or plastic

Leachates are collected and stored or used

Monitoring for leaks

Waste is covered and left to decompose

Question 16

Advantages of Incineration

Answer 16

Reduces bulk, lowers water pollution, produces electricity, heat energy

Question 17

Disadvantages of Incineration

Answer 17

Harmful emissions - heavy metals, dioxins

LULU - locally undesirable land uses

Toxic ash needs to be disposed of

Question 18

How does Japan use incinerated material?

Answer 18

They melt ash and crystallize it into hard stone building material.

Question 19

What are sources of hazardous waste?

Answer 19

petroleum products, pulp and paper, solvents, paints, batteries, pesticides

Does not include explosives or radioactive waste

400 million tons worldwide per year

40% treated, 60% untreated

2.5kg per year per person

Question 20

Where does Canada rank on hazardous waste?

Answer 20

4th most

Question 21

What is the Basel Convention?

Answer 21

First global attempt to regulate international transport of hazardous waste

Question 22

Problems with e-waste

Answer 22

wastes from electronic devices - lead, cadmium, mercury 50 million tons/yr

75% of donated computers are garbage

Illegal dumping of hazardous wastes

Question 23

Ivory Coast 2006 incident

Answer 23

Dutch ship dumped toxic sludge that killed 17 people and 100k needed treatment for burns to skin and lungs. Would have cost 300,000 to safely dispose in Europe