ENV SCI Chap 21

Question 1: 20% and its function is to help control pollution it decreases smells and windblown litter.

Question 2: it brings up the point of alternatives that have been developed by using plants and bacteria to clean up our messes. But it could get into the food web. The cost of phytoremediation is less than half the cost of landfilling. And genetically modified plants are being developed to process toxins.

Question 3: 2 advantages they work best when regulated to ensure they burn well and emissions are monitored. Modern incinerators are among the smallest sources now for hazardous emissions at least in Europe. 2 disadvantages are that the initial construction costs are high usually in the millions and they can produce toxic ash.

Question4: anyone associated with the site has to be reliable to cleaning it up.

DQ: incineration is a more expensive but a widely known alternative to landfilling. Recycling is known to be smarter and better for the environment but that’s not always true. Recycling also lowers the demand for raw materials. However modern incinerators are among the smallest sources now for hazardous emission, at least in Europe. This can be read on page 483. It would be unwise to rely solely on one, especially incineration because of the toxic ash it can release and how mass incineration would do a lot of harm. However not everything can be recycled and not a lot of places recycle. We should implement a mix of both.