Introduction to Laws for Sustainability - Unit 7B: Waste & Toxic Substances

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to waste and toxic substances as introduced in the lecture on laws for sustainability.

Solid Waste

Any discarded material that is not liquid or gas and requires proper disposal or recycling.

Sham Recycling

A practice that falsely claims to recycle materials but does not achieve legitimate recycling outcomes.

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; a federal law governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste.

Legitimate Recycling

Recycling that meets specific criteria to ensure materials are reused in an environmentally safe manner.

Corrective Action

Cleanup processes for past and present releases from waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.

Environmental Indicators (EI)

Metrics used to track progress in controlling human exposure and groundwater migration from contamination.

Human Exposures Under Control

An environmental indicator ensuring that humans are not exposed to harmful contaminants.

Migration of Contaminated Groundwater Under Control

An environmental indicator that assures contaminated groundwater does not spread to other resources.

CERCLA

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; U.S. federal law for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

Liability under CERCLA

Legal responsibility for cleanup costs associated with hazardous waste contamination.