Unit II: World resources and sustainable development

Sequence: Reading and writing

Pre- reading: Pictures displaying how waste is disposed of in different places

While reading:
Dumping hazardous waste
“The control of hazardous waste must be tightened up”, says the House of Lords Select
Committee on science and technology in a report published this week.

Just because nothing has gone wrong so far, people must not be complacent. The report is
alert to the political implications of dangerous waste. “Public hostility to hazardous waste
disposal facilities is common and is too important to be ignored”, says the very first
recommendation. Residents should be reassured that methods of disposal really are the best
available and not the cheapest tolerable means.

The report also recommends that more research should be carried out on how to dispose of
dangerous waste through landfill, and the control exercised by waste disposal authorities
should be strengthened at once. Those who produce hazardous waste should be registered,
should identify a person in charge of disposing it, and should make quarterly returns of all the
dangerous waste they produce.

Task 1]: Read the text above then answer the following questions:
a) What does the report aim at?
b) Is the public supposed to ignore the issue of hazardous waste?
c) Which methods of waste disposal should be applied?
d) How should those who produce hazardous waste be punished?

Task 2] Read again the above report and find the following:
a) An adjective closest in meaning to: dangerous or risky
b) A noun closest in meaning to: litter
c) A verb which means: to get rid of

After reading
Task: How is waste disposed of in your town? Describe its a process using
sequencers and verbs in the passive
A sample: First waste is put in plastic bags. Next these plastic bags are collected
in huge dustbins from every district by garbage lorries. After that it is disposed
of into or upon the land. Liquid wastes are usually disposed of in underground
injection wells. Finally the collected waste is transported for "treatment, storage
or disposal.