Deck 24: Solid and Hazardous Waste

Question 1

In which province are the Sydney Tar Ponds located?

A)Ontario
B)New Brunswick
C)Newfoundland and Labrador
D)Nova Scotia

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which strategy should be given the lowest priority in a low-waste approach?

A)recycle the waste
B)reuse the waste
C)reduce the waste
D)bury the waste

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which strategy should be given the highest priority in a low-waste approach?

A)recycle the waste
B)reduce the waste
C)bury the waste
D)incinerate the waste

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What percentage of the world's solid waste is produced by North America?

A)about 10%
B)about 20%
C)about 33%
D)about 50%

Question 5

Which country has a beverage-container deposit fee that is 50% of the cost of the liquid product in the container in order to encourage the use of refillable bottles?

A)Ecuador
B)Canada
C)Germany
D)Italy

Question 6

What is the best way to handle soft drink and beer containers, according to environmentalists?

A)use reusable glass bottles
B)recycle aluminum cans
C)use landfills
D)use stainless steel cans

Question 7

What percentage of solid and hazardous wastes in a low-waste society could be eliminated through reduction, reuse, and recycling, according to estimates by scientists?

A)about 5 to 10%
B)about 15 to 25%
C)about 25 to 50%
D)about 60 to 80%

Question 8

What is the cost of using 0.5-litre refillable soft drink bottles, according to studies by two soft drink companies?

A)three times more than using disposable bottles
B)two times more than using disposable bottles
C)about the same as using disposable bottles
D)one-third less than using disposable bottles

Question 9

What is the most advanced approach to dealing with waste?

A)recycling materials
B)using biodegradable material
C)reducing the amount of materials used
D)creating more durable products

Question 10

What is the Xerox Corporation's policy of leasing most of its copy machines, and providing maintenance and upgrades for the length of the lease, rather than selling the machines outright an example of?

A)a shift towards a resource intensive economy
B)a shift towards a material flow economy
C)a shift towards a no-sell economy
D)a shift towards a service flow economy

Question 11

What type of approach to dealing with solid wastes is waste management?

A)It is a low-waste approach.
B)It is a bioaccumulation approach.
C)It is a waste reduction approach.
D)It is a high-waste approach.

Question 12

Which of the following is a low-waste approach?

A)incinerating more waste
B)using built-in obsolescence
C)building larger, better sealed landfills
D)extending the useful lifetime of a product

Question 13

Which statement is an approach to industrial ecology?

A)maximize the input of energy per unit of output
B)adjust inputs and outputs to the carrying capacity of the environment
C)maximize the input of matter resources per unit of output
D)make resource use an open system

Question 14

What happens to over half of North America's municipal solid waste?

A)It is recycled.
B)It is dumped in landfills.
C)It is composted.
D)It is incinerated.

Question 15

Which province has banned all beverage containers that cannot be recycled?

A)Nova Scotia
B)Ontario
C)Newfoundland
D)Prince Edward Island

Question 16

What percentage of North America's solid waste is produced directly by households and businesses?

A)less than 2%
B)about 5%
C)about 10%
D)about 15%

Question 17

What percentage of Canada's municipal solid waste is recycled and/or composted?

A)about 10%
B)about 20%
C)about 30%
D)about 40%

Question 18

What is the 3M Company famous for?

A)its recycling model
B)its waste-treatment program
C)its clean-burning incinerator
D)its Pollution Prevention Pays program

Question 19

How much solid waste was produced in North America in 1996?

A)enough to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching around the world almost 20 times
B)enough to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching around the world almost 8 times
C)enough to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching around the world almost 4 times
D)enough to fill a line of garbage trucks stretching around the world almost 2 times

Question 20

What is the single largest source of solid waste?

A)agriculture
B)municipalities
C)mining
D)industry

Question 21

What is one of the obstacles to recycling in North America?

A)the inclusion of environmental costs in market prices
B)no tax breaks for mining virgin materials
C)high tipping fees in North America
D)a lack of large, steady markets for recycled materials

Question 22

What is the most desirable method of reducing hazardous wastes?

A)perpetual storage
B)using safer products that do not produce hazardous wastes
C)incineration
D)using less-hazardous and nonhazardous materials

Question 23

Which country has the most comprehensive and effective hazardous-waste detoxification program?

A)the United States
B)Norway
C)Denmark
D)Yugoslavia

Question 24

When are consumers of recycled products most effective?

A)when they maximize the amount of pre-consumer waste in the products
B)when they maximize the amount of post-consumer waste in the products
C)when they maximize the amount of post-producer waste in the products
D)when they maximize the amount of pre-producer waste in the products

Question 25

Which of the following is a Class C hazard material, according to WHMIS?

A)a compressed gas that could leak or explode
B)a flammable material that could ignite at room temperature
C)a material that could cause immediate and serious toxic effects
D)an oxidizing material that could aid a fire

Question 26

What is required to break down partially biodegradable plastics?

A)oxygen and moisture
B)light
C)cool conditions
D)anaerobic conditions

Question 27

Which statement characterizes the use of incinerators?

A)They are inexpensive to operate and maintain.
B)They release toxic substances in fly ash and bottom ash.
C)They create many low-paying jobs.
D)They are inexpensive to build.

Question 28

Which statement characterizes phytoremediation?

A)It may be especially useful in removing acidic contaminants.
B)It involves the use of bacteria to detoxify hazardous wastes.
C)It involves the use of plants to remove contaminants.
D)It may be especially useful in removing organic contaminants.

Question 29

Which of the following is good strategy for overcoming obstacles to recycling?

A)reduce subsidies for reuse and post-consumer waste recycling
B)reduce fees for household garbage collection
C)increase tax breaks for resource extracting industries
D)require eco-labels that evaluate life cycle environmental costs

Question 30

What is the most energy-efficient beverage container on the market?

A)stainless steel
B)recyclable aluminum
C)refillable glass
D)recyclable plastic

Question 31

Which material is the most difficult to recycle?

A)aluminum
B)plastic
C)paper
D)glass

Question 32

How old have intact newspapers been that have been dug up from landfills?

A)30 or 40 years old
B)40 or 50 years old
C)50 or 60 years old
D)60 or 70 years old

Question 33

What is an environmentalist most likely to say at the checkout counter?

A)"Either a plastic or a paper bag, please."
B)"I brought my own bag, thanks."
C)"A plastic bag, please."
D)"A paper bag, please."

Question 34

What is a critic of recycling most likely to say?

A)Incineration is a very safe and efficient way to dispose of solid wastes.
B)Recycling is not worth the effort.
C)Recycling does not make sense if it costs more than landfilling or incinerating.
D)There is no solid-waste problem.

Question 35

What is the most desirable method of handling hazardous wastes?

A)perpetual storage of hazardous wastes
B)deposit hazardous wastes in ocean trenches
C)conversion to less-hazardous materials
D)incineration of hazardous wastes

Question 36

What is the most likely product of composting?

A)landfill by-products
B)soil conditioner and organic fertilizer
C)manure
D)pure garbage

Question 37

What percentage of all plastic is recycled in North America?

A)about 50%
B)about 40%
C)about 20%
D)about 10%

Question 38

What is the most desirable type of recycling?

A)primary, or closed-loop recycling
B)secondary, or closed-loop recycling
C)secondary, or open-loop recycling
D)tertiary, or figure-eight recycling

Question 39

What percentage of Canada's municipal solid waste is buried in landfills?

A)about 15%
B)about 20%
C)about 50%
D)about 75%

Question 40

For which substance is bioremediation most effective?

A)complex mixtures of toxic chemicals
B)a few specific organic wastes
C)toxic metals
D)concentrated chemical wastes

Question 41

Most scientists think that waste management should be the last priority for dealing with material use and solid wastes.

Question 42

What is the source of most atmospheric emissions of dioxins in North America?

A)landfills
B)refrigerator manufacturers
C)paper mills
D)medical and municipal solid-waste incinerators

Question 43

What does mercury act as when it enters the human body?

A)as a neurotoxin
B)as a mutagen
C)as an allergen
D)as a carcinogen

Question 44

Who bears the true cost of dumping hazardous wastes?

A)the people who live in affluent areas
B)the taxpayers who pay to clean up disposal messes
C)the producer of the waste
D)the disposer of the waste

Question 45

Which statement applies most to deep-well disposal of liquid hazardous wastes?

A)It is a very expensive method of waste disposal.
B)It is more carefully regulated than other waste-disposal methods.
C)It produces large amounts of CO₂.
D)It is less visible than other waste-disposal methods.

Question 46

When the waste outputs of one organism become nutrient inputs for another organism, waste is reduced.

Question 47

What are brownfields?

A)old landfill sites that have been replanted with vegetation
B)abandoned, once-contaminated industrial and commercial sites that have been cleaned up
C)forests that have been converted to new sanitary landfills
D)productive agricultural lands that use conservation tillage

Question 48

What is the main source of atmospheric emissions of mercury?

A)rocks and soils
B)coal burning
C)gold mining
D)volcanoes

Question 49

Which item is a source of environmental mercury?

A)discarded refrigerators
B)discarded plastic packaging
C)discarded fluorescent light tubes
D)discarded smoke detectors

Question 50

What is the best definition of leachate?

A)water contaminated by hazardous waste
B)rainwater contaminated as it percolates through solid waste
C)mixture of methane and CO₂ released from landfills
D)hazardous waste stored in a lake

Question 51

The current methods of solid waste and hazardous waste disposal compromise the environment.

Question 52

The NOPE philosophy has allowed waste, especially chemical waste, to be buried and neglected in the United States.

Question 53

Using less energy will produce less waste but more pollution.

Question 54

Waste reduction is the preferred solution to managing solid wastes because it does not try to avoid the issue of economic growth.

Question 55

Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature's models and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems.

Question 56

Which substance is a serious pollutant which, if ingested or inhaled by humans, accumulates in their bones because it cannot be excreted?

A)calcium
B)nitrate
C)phosphate
D)lead

Question 57

The ecoindustrial revolution sacrificed ecological concerns for the operational needs of heavy manufacturing.

Question 58

What can be used in place of chlorine to bleach wood pulp and paper?

A)nitrogen
B)hydrogen peroxide
C)carbon dioxide
D)titanium dioxide

Question 59

What is still a major source of lead poisoning in North America?

A)peeling paint in older homes
B)pencils
C)gasoline
D)house insulation

Question 60

Downcycling, composting, and source separation recycling are all effective in reducing waste.

Question 61

The practice of reusing products can be a health hazard for people in developing countries who make a living by dismantling discarded products to extract usable parts.

Question 62

A(n) ______________________________ is a site where wastes are isolated from the environment until it is safe.

Question 63

Canada's label for meeting specified environmental standards is called the EcoLogo.

Question 64

The core idea of ____________________ is that nature has already solved many of the problems with which the human population is struggling.

Question 65

The natural priorities list identifies hazardous waste sites and advocates cleaning up these sites based on priority and severity.

Question 66

A(n) _____________________________________________ is inefficient because it is expensive to build, discharges toxic emissions, and can produce a toxic ash.

Question 67

Countries in which governments offer subsidies and tax breaks for extracting, reusing, and recycling materials are more environmentally sustainable than countries that do not offer them.

Question 68

In a resources exchange web, the heat waste from power plants could be used to heat nearby industries and homes.

Question 69

Paying a product's full cost would enable recycling to be more feasible in today's market.

Question 70

Tires being shredded and converted into surfacing for public roads is an example of ____________________.

Question 71

_____________________________________________ are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk to human health and the environment.

Question 72

The products of composting can be used in agriculture to slow soil erosion, retain water, and improve crop yields.

Question 73

Different industries can interact with each other in a(n) ___________________________________ where the wastes of one plant become raw materials for another.

Question 74

Pre-consumer waste is the calculated amount of waste that will be generated when a consumer uses a product.

Question 75

In a material flow economy, manufacturers make more money on a product if it can be recycled because recycling reduces the quantity of raw materials needed.

Question 76

At sanitary landfills, addressing the problem of leachate is a very high priority as far as environmental preservation is concerned.

Question 77

A key process of ____________________ might be the slowing of contaminant transport from the vegetated zone due to adsorption and increased evaporation.

Question 78

The incineration of hazardous wastes is quick, conserves space, and reduces waste volume, but is not widely used because it results in water pollution.

Question 79

Although they could be safe if sites are chosen carefully, ___________________________________ may have fractures as well as leaks due to corrosion or spills.

Question 80

Plastics are routinely recycled because they are composed of pure resins that can be extracted and used for other plastic products.