Environmental Science Waste Management

Superfund and RCRA are administered and enforced by

• individual businesses

• environmental activists

• the United States EPA

• local landfills

Which of the following statements does not describe problems 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 basements of nearby buildings

• all of these

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

According to the text, what is the most helpful thing 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 material whenever possible

Which of the following produces the most solid waste?

• manufacturing

• plastic packaging

• agriculture

• nuclear power plants

You can use your consumer buying power to reduce solid waste by

• shopping at discount stores

• buying something only when it is on sale

• using rechargeable batteries

• asking for paper bags instead of plastic bags

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

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

Garbologists have discovered that trash in landfills is slow to decompose. Why is this?

• Trash is compacted so tightly that the warm temperatures foster the growth of mold.

• Trash is compacted so tightly that sunlight, water, and air are unable to reach it.

• Measures enacted to prevent landfill pollution slow decomposition.

• Trash is constantly mixed and turned over by bulldozers.

• Methods of determining this are faulty; waste in landfills does decompose quickly.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

One way to deal with the creation of solid wastes begins with the question “How can we avoid producing so much solid waste?” This approach is called ____.

• waste reduction

• waste recycling

• secondary pollution prevention

• primary pollution prevention

• integrated waste management

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

The ____ is used in the U.S. to regulate hazardous waste.

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Recovery, Compensation, and Liability Act

• Superfund Act

• Solid Waste Disposal Act

• Clean Water Act

Waste produced by households and businesses

• Hazardous Waste

• Biodegradable Waste

• Municipal Solid Waste

• Water Waste

• Industrial Solid Waste

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4