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 gas. We produce about 10 billion tons.
(2) Why has the amount of waste produced
doubled in the U.S. since the 1960s?
Products are designed to be used once and then
thrown away unlike in the 1960s where it was
natural to reuse more often.
(3) Compare and contrast biodegradable versus
non-biodegradable materials. Provide an example
of each as well.
Biodegradable versus can be broken down by living
things while non-biodegradable can. Biodegradable
can paper, paper bags, cotton fibers, etc. Nonbiodegradable examples consist of plastics.
(4) Where does most of our solid waste come from
(about 70%)?
Comes from manufacturing and mining.

(5) What is municipal solid waste? What makes up

the largest portion of this waste (Figure 12-8)?
The trash produced by households and businesses.
Paper makes up the largest portion.
(6) What percentage of our trash is recycled?
25% of our trash is recycled
(7) Where does our trash that is not recycled go
(you can use Figure 12-9)?
Our trash goes to landfills.
(8) Describe three problems with storing waste in
landfills.
Leachate which is water that contains toxic
chemicals, methane, safe guards that are too
expensive.
(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.
Some air ends polluting the air and the space
needed in the landfill is reduced.