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Chapter 16 - Solid and Hazardous Waste
True / False
1. It is possible to contribute to health problems for people in China, India, or Africa when discarding a cell phone or other
electronic device in the United States
a.
True
b.
False
2. The United State is the only industrialized nation that can export its electronic waste legally simply because it has not
ratified the Basel Convention.
a.
True
b.
False
3. Solid waste contributes to pollution and includes valuable resources that could be reused or recycled.
a.
True
b.
False
4. People in many less developed countries make their living by removing and selling items from open-pit landfills.
a.
True
b.
False
5. The U.S. contains only 4.5% of the world’s people, but produces approximately 25% of the world’s solid waste.
a.
True
b.
False
6. Most of the solid waste in the United States comes from the industrial sector.
a.
True
Chapter 16 - Solid and Hazardous Waste
b.
False
7. Every year, the United States generates enough municipal solid waste to fill a bumper-to-bumper convoy of garbage
trucks long enough to circle the earth’s equator almost six times.
a.
True
b.
False
8. In primary recycling, waste products are converted into new and different products.
a.
True
b.
False
9. The best and cheapest ways to deal with solid and hazardous wastes are waste reduction and pollution prevention.
a.
True
b.
False
10. Enough diapers are thrown away in the United States each year that, if linked end to end, would reach to the moon and
back approximately seven times.
a.
True
b.
False
11. Some scientists and economists estimate that we could eliminate up to 80% of the solid waste by applying integrated
strategies that reduce, reuse, and recycle waste.
a.
True
b.
False
12. Closed-loop recycling is the same as secondary recycling.
a.
True
b.
False
13. The recycling of plastic bottles to make fleece fabric for clothing is a type of secondary recycling.
a.
True
b.
False
14. The availability of oil and petrochemicals effectively stalled the development of bioplastics.
a.
True
b.
False
15. Perpetual storage should be the last resort for dealing with hazardous wastes.
a.
True
b.
False
16. An estimated 82% of the Guiyu (China) area’s children younger than age 6 suffer from lead poisoning as direct result
of electronic waste.
a.
True
b.
False
17. In the natural world, where humans are not dominant, there is essentially no waste.
a.
True
b.
False
18. Some plants may act as pollution sponges that can help to clean up soil and water contaminated with hazardous
chemicals.
a.
True
b.
False
19. Enacting laws will not provide incentives for recycling e-waste and plastics.
a.
True
b.
False
20. Exchanging industrial hazardous wastes through clearinghouses might be a good way to reduce disposal of waste and
pollution.
a.
True
b.
False
21. Since 1976, the EPA has used the Toxic Substances Control Act to ban only 5 of the roughly 80,000 chemicals in use.
a.
True
b.
False
22. The Superfund Act was designed to make polluters pay for cleaning up hazardous waste, however taxpayers are now
Chapter 16 - Solid and Hazardous Waste
paying for the polluters, albeit to a lesser extent.
a.
True
b.
False
23. When the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas, instituted a fee-per-bag waste collection program, the proportion of
households recycling their trash plummeted from 85% to 21%.
a.
True
b.
False
24. The fastest growing solid waste in the world is from ____.
a.
automobiles
b.
tires
c.
diapers
d.
carpet
e.
electronics
25. Where will your old cell phone likely end up if you were to throw it away today?
a.
landfill
b.
China
c.
India
d.
recycling center
e.
waterways
26. Why can the U.S. legally transport its electronic waste when other countries cannot?
a.
The United States can export its e-waste legally because it is the only industrialized nation that exports directly
to recycling centers.
Chapter 16 - Solid and Hazardous Waste
b.
The United States can export its e-waste legally because it is exempted from most international laws.
c.
The United States can export its e-waste legally because it can afford the safety measures needed for safe
transport.
d.
The United States can export its e-waste legally because it is the only industrialized nation that has not ratified
the Basel Convention.
e.
The United States can export its e-waste legally because it has previous trade agreements with some countries.
27. What do workers in countries with cheap labor use to recover valuable metals from e-waste?
a.
lead
b.
sharp knives
c.
heat
d.
acid
e.
mercury
28. Which country is the world’s largest producer of solid waste?
a.
United States
b.
China
c.
Russia
d.
India
e.
Brazil
29. What kind of waste is hospital medical waste?
a.
e-waste
b.
biogenic waste
c.
solid waste
d.
toxic waste
e.
industrial waste
30. Which category most accurately describes waste such as food wastes, cardboard, cans, bottles, yard wastes, furniture,
Chapter 16 - Solid and Hazardous Waste
plastics, metal, glass, and e-waste?
a.
e-waste
b.
municipal waste
c.
solid waste
d.
industrial solid waste
e.
municipal solid waste
31. What variety of hazardous waste does not a have a scientifically and politically acceptable way of disposal?
a.
e-waste
b.
coal ash
c.
pesticides
d.
nuclear
e.
medical waste
32. What approach do most analysts call for in approaching our waste problems?
a.
waste management
b.
waste reduction
c.
integrated waste management
d.
reusing
e.
recycle
33. From an environmental standpoint, refusing, reducing and reusing are preferred over recycling because they are ____
approaches that tackle the problem of waste production at the front end.
more feasible
a.
waste prevention
b.
integrated
c.
management
d.
green
e.
more feasible
34. The fee-per-____ waste collection systems charge consumers for the amount of waste they throw away.
a.
unit
b.
product
c.
material
d.
energy
e.
bag
35. Denmark, Finland, and the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island have banned all ____ that cannot be reused.
a.
batteries
b.
plastics
c.
packaging
d.
grocery bags
e.
beverage containers
36. It can take 400 to 1,000 years to break down ____ that end up in landfills or the ocean.
a.
disposable coffee cups
b.
batteries
c.
glass bottles
d.
plastic bags
e.
aluminum cans
37. It is not surprising to find huge masses of plastic waste in the oceans because ____.
a.
most plastic is dumped in the ocean
b.
most plastic floats on water
c.
plastics take 400 to 1,000 years to break down
d.
illegal dumping is rampant among developing nations
e.
garbage dumps are located near waterways
38. According to some estimates, the North Pacific Garbage Patch occupies an area at least the size of ____.
a.
Ireland
b.
Europe
c.
the Mediterranean Sea
d.
Texas
e.
several square kilometers
39. What may have prevented the use of bioplastics in the past century?
a.
The technology for mass production of bioplastics was not yet available.
b.
The materials needed for bioplastics was used for food.
c.
Bioplastics were viewed as inferior materials.
d.
Oil became widely available and petrochemical plastics took over the market.
e.
Synthetic plastic producers had a strong government lobby.
40. Which type of waste can a homeowner recycle in their backyard as part of a composting project?
a.
dead animals
b.
electronics
c.
plastics
d.
some metals
e.
vegetable food scraps
41. Recycling, reuse, and composting create six to ten times as many ____ as landfills and waste incineration.
a.
problems
b.
benefits
c.
advantages
d.
jobs
e.
opportunities
42. Cities that make money by recycling and that have higher recycling rates tend to use a ____ for both recyclable and
non-recyclable materials
a.
fee structure
b.
subsidy incentive
c.
multi-pickup system
d.
single-pickup system
e.
integrated-pickup system
43. While roughly a third of all ____ produced in the United States is thrown away, only about 2.5% of this waste is
composted.
a.
paper
b.
food
c.
clothing
d.
wood
e.
shrubbery
44. The U.S. EPA estimates that recycling and composting in the United States in 2010 reduced emissions of climate-
changing carbon dioxide by an amount roughly equal to that emitted by 36 million ____.
a.
hydraulically fractured gas wells
b.
barrels of oil
c.
tons of coal
d.
passenger vehicles
e.
power plants
45. What is the result of using a pay-as-you-throw approach in San Francisco, California, USA?
a.
The city lost 37 garbage pickup workers.
b.
The city raised its taxes as a result of stringent recycling requirements.
c.
The city recycled, composted, or reused 78% of its municipal solid waste (MSW).
d.
The city created a severe littering problem.
e.
The city became the most expensive place to live in the U.S.
46. In the United States, approximately 67% by weight of all municipal solid waste is ____.
a.
shipped to foreign countries for disposal
b.
recycled and reused
c.
dumped in the ocean
d.
sent to waste-to-energy incinerators
e.
buried in sanitary landfills
47. The bottoms and sides of ____ have strong double liners and containment systems that collect the liquids.
a.
open dumps
b.
recycling centers
c.
waste incinerators
d.
single-pickup systems
e.
sanitary landfills
48. Sanitary landfills typically have problems with ____.
a.
high operating costs
b.
odor
c.
open, uncovered garbage
d.
traffic, noise, and dust
e.
spread of disease
49. Of the two types of dumps utilized for solid waste, open dumps ____.
a.
are rare in developed countries
b.
cover wastes with clay or plastic foam
c.
have little odor
d.
are vermin free
e.
are the most environmentally friendly
50. What is the primary reason many U.S. citizens, local governments, and environmental scientists oppose waste
incineration?
a.
It is more expensive than landfills.
b.
It must burn a lot of trash to maintain profitability.
c.
It is difficult to regulating incinerators.
d.
It emits air pollutants.
e.
It undermines waste reduction strategies like reduce and reuse.
51. Denmark ____ 54% of its municipal solid waste in state-of-the-art facilities that exceed European air pollution
standards by a factor of 10.
a.
buries
b.
incinerates
c.
recycles
d.
reuses
e.
composts
52. What process involves the use of bacteria and enzymes to destroy hazardous substances?
a.
phytoremediation
b.
plasma gasification
c.
bioremediation
d.
incineration
e.
composting
53. What process involves the use of plants to remove contaminants from polluted soil and water?
a.
phytoremediation
b.
plasma gasification
c.
bioremediation
d.
incineration
e.
composting
