Waste Disposal, Steps in the Recycling Loop
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Which of the following categories comprises the greatest proportion, by weight, of solid waste before recycling in the United States today?
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not \"plastic\"
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What is the term that refers to the reduction of the amount of waste entering the waste stream?
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source reduction
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__________ is the process of recovering organic waste through decomposition.
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composting
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What are the goals of waste management?
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disposing of waste safely as well as effectively, minimizing the amount of waste generated, and increasing recovery
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As of 2008, the average American generates about ________ pounds of solid waste per day.
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4.4
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What does the left y-axis represent?
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total generation of municipal solid waste, in metric tons per year
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What does the red line on the graph represent?
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the average amount of solid waste generated by each person in the United States per year
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In 2000, how much solid waste did the average person in the United States produce?
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770 kilograms per year
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Which of the following statements is the best description of the per capita generation of solid waste between 1960 and 2010?
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Between 1960 and 2000, per capita generation increased. After 2000, per capita generation declined.
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Which of the following actions would not reduce the per capita generation of solid waste?
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not \" composting Kitchen scraps and yard waste\"
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Which of the following statements is the best description of the total MSW generation between 1960 and 2010?
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Between 1960 and 2005, total MSW generation increased at a steady rate. After 2005, total generation leveled off.
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Between 2000 and 2010, per capita generation of solid waste declined, but the total amount of MSW remained relatively constant. What caused the difference in these two trends?
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The total population was increasing.
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How is the generation of municipal solid waste likely to change in the next 20 years?
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The answer cannot be determined from the graph.
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What is the difference between the amount of paper within the waste stream before and after recycling/composting?
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not \"16.2\"
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Which of the following represents the largest waste disposal practice in the United States?
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landfills
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How can consumers decrease waste generation?
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by choosing minimally packaged goods
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The conversion of organic waste to mulch or humus usable for enriching soil by encouraging natural biological processes of decomposition in a controlled manner is called __________.
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composting
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What is the largest component of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream?
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paper and paper products
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Which of the following is an example of a product found in a \"throwaway society,\" such as the United States?
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paper napkins
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As recycling and composting efforts have grown, what has occurred with the annual amount of waste sent to landfills?
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it has proportionally decreased
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Why does the average U.S. citizen create more waste today than 50 years ago?
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higher rates of consumption
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The average American produces how much trash per day?
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4.4 pounds
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What prevents the contamination of groundwater in landfills?
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locating them at least 6 meters above the water table
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Which of the following conditions results from the operation and subsequent use of old landfills built before 1976?
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Leachate from old landfills can contaminate groundwater.
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What is one problem associated with the incineration of solid waste?
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hazardous chemicals are often created and released into the atmosphere
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How can solid waste incineration be of benefit?
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i think the heat from waste combustion can be used to generate energy\" not \" the fly ash can be used as compost or mulch\"
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How is compost used?
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It is used to enrich soil.
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Which of the following actions is required for the recycling loop to be successful?
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Consumers and businesses must purchase products made from recycled materials.
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From the 1960s to the present, the trend has been that ________ over time.
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more overall waste was produced
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The year ________ demonstrated the greatest volume of recycling.
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2008
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Volume of waste recovered by composting was insignificant until ________.
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not \"2000\"
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What sort of waste is predominantly generated by U.S. industrial facilities?
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wastewater
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Which type of analysis is performed by industrial ecologists when they examine a product from its beginning as a raw material until its disposal?
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life-cycle analysis
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Which of the following statements about current U.S. waste disposal is true?
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We landfill half of our trash and recycle a third of it.
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How can an engineered cover on landfills reduce decomposition of the trash?
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The cover keeps the landfill dry, which decreases the ability of bacteria to decompose trash.
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Which of the following statements about U.S. landfills is true?
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i think \"It is against the law to build anything on an abandoned landfill.\" not \" There are more active landfills in existence today than ever before.\"
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What is the goal of an industrial ecologist?
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reduce the waste in industrial systems
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Why do industries tend to produce so much waste even though it is not the most efficient way to do business?
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In most cases, there is no financial incentive for becoming efficient.
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Which of the following types of hazardous waste are unstable and pose dangers when in contact with other compounds?
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reactive
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Which of the following sectors produces the most hazardous waste?
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industry
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Which of the following choices best describes a surface impoundment used for hazardous waste disposal?
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I think \" used to store and concentrate dilute liquid hazardous waste before it is moved to a permanent disposal option\" not \" used for nuclear waste storage\"
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Substances that degrade the metals that make up storage tanks or equipment are called __________.
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corrosives
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What is an abandoned waste site that poses a direct threat to health and the environment, designated to have U.S. government funds applied to its cleanup?
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Superfund site
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Which statement about e-waste is accurate?
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E-waste contains toxic heavy metals that can leach into the environment.
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What do chromium, mercury, copper, and tin have in common?
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They are heavy metals.
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What is a potential, and likely, drawback to the deep-well injection of hazardous wastes?
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Well casings can corrode leaking hazardous waste into soil, rock, and gravel.
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Of the following, ________ produce(s) the largest amount of hazardous waste.
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industry
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To safeguard against groundwater contamination, sanitary landfills are ________.
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not \" lined with cement\"
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Deep inside landfills, bacteria decompose organic wastes in a low oxygen environment. This anaerobic decomposition results in a mix of gases called landfill gas, which consists of about 50% ________.
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methane
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The best solution to the solid waste problem is to ________.
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not \" increase the number of WTE facilities\"
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The second step in the recycling loop is ________.
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not \" the collection and processing of recyclable materials\"
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The Fresh Kills Landfill ________.
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site will be converted into a public park
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________ is the conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus.
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Composting
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The earthworms, fungi, and bacteria in your compost pile will NOT be happy if you give them ________.
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plastic
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RCRA is a U.S. law enacted in the 1970s to ________.
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regulate how hazardous waste is handled
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The Trash Track project ________.
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monitors the movement of trash items to improve efficiency of management processes
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Approximately ________% of all U.S. residents are served by curbside recycling programs, and the part of the U.S. waste stream that is recycled is currently about ________%.
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50; 25
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Recycling aluminum cans saves ________% of the energy needed to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin bauxite.
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not \"70\"
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In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, glass is ________.
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not \" melted down to make light bulbs\"
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Industrial ecologists ________.
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redesign industrial systems to minimize physical inefficiency and maximize economic efficiency
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Life-cycle analysis ________.
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examines the life cycle of products for ecological efficiency
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All of the following are considered to define types of hazardous waste except ________.
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inert
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Of the following, ________ represent criteria for classifying hazardous waste.
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not \" municipal, industrial and agricultural\" I think \" ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic\"
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Heavy metals ________.
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bioaccumulate in animal tissues
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________ represent(s) the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste.
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not \" Farmers\"
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Of the following, ________ are classified as hazardous heavy metals.
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lead, mercury, cadmium
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E-wastes are a source of ________.
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not \" radioactive materials\" i think \" acid corrosives\"
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As of 2014, under the jurisdiction of the EPA, approximately ________% of hazardous sites identified under CERCLA as a national priority have been cleaned up.
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30
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Deep-well injection ________.
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injects mostly liquid hazardous wastes into porous rock isolated by impervious clay deep beneath human water supplies
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The EPA is charged with cleaning up brownfields, which are ________.
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lands whose reuse or development is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials
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The current state of e-wastes is that ________.
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although recycling is improved, the rate of e-wastes going into landfills and incinerators is rising
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The best way to reduce plastic in landfills is to ________.
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not \" increase use of recycled items\"
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Closing the recycling loop refers to ________.
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purchasing items made from recycled materials
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Plastic ________.
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from beverage containers is easily recyclable if decapped, washed, and squashed
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________ are wastepaper contaminants that cannot effectively be recycled.
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not \" Corrugated cardboard boxes\"
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Paper and plastic waste share the following characteristics: ________.
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not \" they are both made from petrochemicals\"
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LDPE is ________.
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not \" the most widely recycled plastic\"
