Chapter 19-21

Solid waste includes all of the following except:

• Newspaper and soda bottles

• Food scraps and yard clippings

• Ozone and carbon dioxide

• Junk mail and milk cartons

If your shirt is made of 50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester, what part is biodegradable?

• Cotton

• Polyester

• Both Polyester and Cotton

• None of the above

Microorganisms are unable to break down plastics because plastics....

• are made from oil

• are too abundant

• do not occur in nature

• are made of elements not found in any other substance

Municipal solid waste is approximately what percentage of all solid waste?

• 2 Percent

• 20 Percent

• 60 Percent

• 90 Percent

Leachate is a substance that

• is produced in a compost pile

• contains dissolved toxic chemicals

• is produced by incinerators

• is a byproduct of bacterial digestion

Which of the following is not a benefit of incinerating waste?

• It neutralizes all of the toxic materials in the waste

• It reduces the amount of material sent to landfills

• It can be used to produce electricity

• It produces energy in the form of heat

Manufacturers could reduce waste and conserve resources by making products that...

• are difficult to repair

• are disposable

• use more materials

• are more durable

Which of the following is one way to reduce an over-supply of recyclable materials?

• Build more recycling plants

• Increase the amount of recyclable materials that can be collected

• Increase the demand for products made from recycled materials

• Put the excess materials in landfills

Most of the municipal solid waste in the United States is

• stored in landfills

• recycled

• incinerated

• None of the Above

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about the effects of pollution on health?

• It is difficult to determine how pollution affects health because many factors often contribute to a disease.

• The toxic effects of a pollutant depend upon the dose to which you are exposed

• Many pollutants cause chronic diseases that result from exposure to the pollutant over the course of many years.

• Persistent chemicals are less toxic than chemicals that break down rapidly