Chapter 12 Waste NotesGuiding Questions

p. 303-309
(1) What is solid waste? How much of it do we
produce in the U.S. each year? Solid waste is any
discarded material that is not a liquid or gas.
(2) Why has the amount of waste produced doubled
in the U.S. since the 1960s? Because many products
are designed to be used once and thrown away.
(3) Compare and contrast biodegradable versus non
biodegradable materials. Provide an example of each
as well. Biodegradable material is material that can
be broken down by living things & consumed by
living things. i.e. food Non biodegradable is
something that cannot. i.e. plastic
(4) Where does most of our solid waste come from
(about 70%)? Manufacturing and mining
(5) What is municipal solid waste? What makes up the
largest portion of this waste (Figure 12-8)? The trash
produced by households and businesses , paper &
cardboard.
(6) What percentage of our trash is recycled? Over
25%
(7) Where does our trash that is not recycled go (you
can use Figure 12-9)? Either in a landfill or
incinerated
(8) Describe three problems with storing waste in
landfills.
-Leachates
-Methane
-Takes land
(9) When is NC estimated to run out of landfill space
(use Figure 12-12)? 5-10 years
(10) Describe two problems with incinerating waste.
- Air polluting gases
- Material buried into landfill is more toxic.