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 a gas. We
produce around 200,000

(2) Why has the amount of waste produced

doubled in the U.S. since the 1960s? because many
products today are designed to be used once and then
throw away.

(3) Compare and contrast biodegradable versus

non-biodegradable materials. Provide an example
of each as well.
Biodegradable material- a material that can be broken
down by living things into simpler chemical that can be
consumed by living things (ex: paper, cotton fiber)
Non-biodegradable- a material that cannot be broken
down (ex: plastic)

(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- the trash produced by households

and business. Paper makes up the largest portion of

waste

(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)? Stored in landfills,
incinerated

(8) Describe three problems with storing waste in

landfills. 1.Leachate- water that contains toxic chemicals
dissolved from waste in a landfill 2. Methane 3.the
methane can cause a dangerous explosion

(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 waste that is burned does not disappear
(polluting the air)
A community that builds an incinerator may not be
as motivated to recycle of reduce its waste