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?
Any discarded material that is not a liquid or a gas.
Americans generate more than 10 billion tons of
solid waste.
(2) Why has the amount of waste produced doubled
in the U.S. since the 1960s?
More products 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.
Biodegradeable materials can be broken down by
living things, not Biodegradeable. Yet both are still
forms of waste.
(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)?
It is waste made from households and workplaces,
paper make up the largest portion of it.
(6) What percentage of our trash is recycled?
25%
(7) Where does our trash that is not recycled go (you
can use Figure 12-9)?
Landfills or incinerated
(8) Describe three problems with storing waste in
landfills.
Chemical leaks, flammable, populating nearby wells
(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.
Polluting gases and toxic fumes