Chapter 19 - Waste

Which of the following statements does not describe a problem associated with modern landfills?

• Chemicals leaking out of the waste stored there may pollute wells or groundwater supplies.

• Materials buried in landfills decompose in three years.

• Explosive gases can be produced by landfills and may build up in the basements of nearby buildings.

• All of them

According to the text, what is the most helpful thing that a consumer can do to make sure that more materials are recycled?

• Encourage friends and neighbors to recycle their newspapers.

• Carefully wash and sort all materials put out for recycling.

• Write letters to legislators asking that recycling be made mandatory.

• Make an effort to buy products made from recycled materials whenever possible.

Which of the following produces the most solid waste?

• manufacturing

• plastic packaging

• agriculture

• nuclear power plants

Which items make up the largest percentage of waste produced by households and businesses?

• aluminum cans

• plastic bottles and packaging

• paper products

• yard waste, such as grass clippings and tree limbs

What percentage of the energy needed to make aluminum cans from ore is needed to make recycled aluminum cans from used aluminum cans?

• 95 percent

• 60 percent

• 5 percent

• None of them

Which of the following correctly describes the disposal of waste by composting?

• Composting is a good way for individuals to reduce the amount of garbage they send to landfills, but large-scale composting is impractical.

• Composting could reduce the amount of waste that restaurants, food-processing plants, and animal feedlots send to landfills.

• Compost made from glass and plastics can be recycled and used as building materials.

• Yard wastes, such as grass clippings, are not suitable for composting because they contain low levels of nutrients.

Which of the following correctly describes biodegradable plastics?

• Some plastics are designed to deteriorate when exposed to sunlight.

• Plastic that contains sugars can be broken down by soil bacteria.

• Degradable plastics usually break down into smaller pieces of plastic.

• All of them

Which of the following is not considered hazardous waste?

• dead batteries such as those used in flashlights and radios

• rotting meat and other food waste

• metals such as lead and mercury

• None of them

Under the Superfund Act,

• the EPA may sue companies that dump hazardous waste illegally.

• most of the dangerous toxic dump sites in the United States have been cleaned up.

• companies that cannot afford to clean up their hazardous wastes can have the government pay for the cleanup.

• All of them

Some hazardous waste is disposed of by deep-well injection. This procedure

• pollutes the wells and water supplies of nearby residents.

• stores wastes in layers of dry rock below the water table.

• violates federal law.

• All of them