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. Over
10 billion tons are created per year.
(2) Why has the amount of waste produced doubled
in the U.S. since the 1960s? Because products today
are designed to be used once.
(3) Compare and contrast biodegradable versus non
biodegradable materials. Provide an example of each
as well. Biodegradable materials are materials that
can be decomposed by living organisms, nonbiodegradable materials are the exact opposite, and
can cause damage to an environment.
(4) Where does most of our solid waste come from
(about 70%)? From manufacturing and mining.

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

largest portion of this waste (Figure 12-8)? Municipal
solid waste is the trash produced by households and
businesses. The largest portion of this waste is paper
and cardboard.
(6) What percentage of our trash is recycled? 25% of
the trash in America is recycled.
(7) Where does our trash that is not recycled go (you
can use Figure 12-9)? The trash that isnt recycled
goes into landfills.
(8) Describe three problems with storing waste in
landfills. Leachate, which is water that contains toxic
chemicals dissolved from wastes in a landfill.
Methane, which is a toxic gas. Poisoning of ground
water.
(9) When is NC estimated to run out of landfill space
(use Figure 12-12)? Between 5- 10 years.

(10) Describe two problems with incinerating waste.

2 problems with incinerating waste is that 1) the
waste becomes a polluting gas. 2) it creates toxic
water and air supplies.