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. 10
billion tons of waste is produced in the US.
(2) Why has the amount of waste produced doubled
in the U.S. since the 1960s? Many products today are
designed to be used once and then thrown away.
(3) Compare and contrast biodegradable versus non-
biodegradable materials. Provide an example of each
as well. A biodegradable material can be broken
down by living things into to simpler chemicals that
are safe for other living things to consume. Non-
biodegradable materials are made to not be able to
be broken down and not safe to be consumed.
(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)? Municipal
solid waste is trash that is produced by households
and businesses. Paper and cardboard make up 39%
of all municipal waste.
(6)What percentage of our trash is recycled? 25-27%
(7) Where does our trash that is not recycled go (you
can use Figure 12-9)? Landfills
(8) Describe three problems with storing waste in
landfills. It can create toxic water, can release
methane which is highly flammable, and landfills can
be filled so new places for trash have to be found.
(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.
The first problem is that after everything is burned
the gases that are left over are usually toxic and a
community with an incinerator doesnt really recycle
because they believe they can just burn all of their
trash.