Waste Management and Sustainability Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering types of waste, disposal methods, waste reduction strategies, and hazardous waste terms based on the lecture transcript.

Agricultural Waste

Waste that constitutes about 50% of total waste, including crop residues and animal by-products, which can be repurposed through composting.

Industrial Waste

Waste produced by industrial operations that is often recycled or destroyed through specialized processes, and can lead to environmental disputes if companies neglect proper disposal.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Trash or waste generated specifically by households, produced in higher amounts per household in the US than in other countries.

Open Dumps

Uncovered and uncontained piles of trash that are illegal due to nuisance laws and property rights violations.

Ocean Dumping

The disposal of waste into the ocean, which has been illegal since 1975 under the Marine Protection Act and has resulted in large garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean.

Marine Protection Act

The 1975 legislation that made ocean dumping illegal due to environmental and public health hazards.

Incineration

A waste disposal method that burns waste and can produce energy, but emits particulate matter and chemicals regulated by the Clean Air Act, and still requires ash residue to be landfilled.

Clean Air Act

Regulations that subject waste incineration processes to air quality standards due to the production of particulate matter and chemicals.

Sanitary Landfills

The only legal form of landfilling in the US, constructed with specific site selection, liners, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, methane gas wells, daily soil or tarp cover, and final capping.

Leachate

A toxic liquid formed when water mixes with trash in a landfill, commonly referred to as 'trash juice'.

Baltimore's Water Wheel

A water-current and solar-powered trash collector located in the Jones Falls River that prevents trash from entering the Inner Harbor.

Reduce

The most environmentally friendly waste management strategy, which minimizes demand for new products along with associated energy and transportation costs.

Reuse

A waste management strategy that avoids reprocessing energy by using items multiple times, such as using reusable bags, donating clothes, or utilizing durable goods.

Recycle

The process of reprocessing existing materials to create new products, reducing the need for raw material extraction and saving money.

Hazardous Waste

Waste defined by its potential to cause harm or death, assessed using LD50 tests, and requiring specialized disposal separate from sanitary landfills.

LD50

Lethal Dose for 50% of a sample population, used to test and assess the hazard level of hazardous waste.