AP Environmental Science Chapter 16: Waste Generation and Waste Disposal

Waste

Material outputs from a system that are not useful or consumed

Humans

Only ________________ generate waste

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Refuse collected by municipalities from households, small businesses, and institutions

Wealthier

______________ societies generate more waste

Residences

Sixty percent of MSW comes from ____________

Commercial and institutional facilities

Forty percent of MSW comes from _______________

Seasons of the year, status of person generating waste, and geographic location within country

Waste generation varies by _____________________

Waste Stream

The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid waste landfill, or disposed of in another way

Paper

What makes up the most of the waste stream (30%)

Reduce, reuse, recycle

A popular phrase promoting the idea of diverting materials from the waste stream

Source reduction

An approach to waste management that seeks to cut waste by reducing the use of potential waste materials in the early stages of design and manufacture

Reuse

Using a product or material that was intended to be discarded

Recycling

The process by which materials destined to become municipal solid waste are collected and converted into raw materials that is then used to produce new objects

Closed-loop recycling

Recycling a product into the same product

Open-loop recycling

Recycling one product into a different product

Composting

Creation of organic matter (humus) by decomposition under controlled conditions to produce an organic-rich material that enhances soil structure, cation exchange capacity, and fertility.

Nitrogen

What are the greens in compost?

Carbon

What are the browns in compost?

30:1

What is the best ratio of carbon to nitrogen?

Greens

Grass clippings, weeds, fruit peels, and leftover veggies are examples of

Browns

Sawdust, fallen leaves, and wood clippings are examples of

Open dumps

These are where villages of people used to leave their waste in a shared open area, the waste is exposed, attracts wildlife, and an eyesore. These are illegal in most developed countries

Landfills and Incineration

What are the two options for waste disposal?

Leachate

Liquid that contains elevated levels of pollutants as a result of having passed through municipal solid waste or contaminated soil

Sanitary landfill

An engineered ground facility designed to hold MSW with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible

Can hold A LOT of waste, cuts down on contamination, inexpensive to build BUT causes an environmental injustice issue, produces methane

What are the pros and cons of landfills?

Incineration

The process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes to generate electricity or heat

Ash

The residual nonorganic material that does no combust during incineration

90%

An effective incinerator can reduce the volume of solid waste by up to _________ and the weight by 75%

Waste-to-energy

A system in which heat generated by incineration is used as an energy source rather than released into the atmosphere *Concentrates toxins into ash and may release harmful gases just like coal

Reduces waste by up to 90%, energy can be generated BUT toxic ash must be disposed of and metals and toxins are released into air

What are the incineration pros and cons?

Hazardous waste

Liquid, solid, gaseous, or sludge waste material that is harmful to humans or ecosystems at high doses

Fatal to organisms in low doses, alters genes, ignitable at less than 60°C (140°F), corrosive, explosive or highly reactive

What are characteristics of hazardous waste?

Superfund Act

The common name for CERCLA; a 1980 U.S. federal act that imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, funds the cleanup of abandoned and nonoperating hazardous waste sites, and authorizes the federal government to respond directly to the release or threatened release of substances that may pose a threat to human health or the environment

Superfund sites

Areas deemed by CERCLA to be the highest priority to clean up as they are a direct threat to humans

Brownfields

Contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded (EPA assists in cleaning of these sites) -Less of a priority than Superfund sites

Cradle-to-grave analysis

A systems tool that looks at the materials used and released throughout the lifetime of a product-from the procurement of raw materials through their manufacture, use, and disposal

Integrated waste management

An approach to waste disposal that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies in order to reduce the environmental impact of MSW