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Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e

William P. Cunningham, University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo, St. Cloud State University

Solid, Toxic, and Hazardous Waste

Essay Quiz


1		Reduce, reuse, and recycle are the most environmentally sound ways to tame the municipal waste monster. a. Briefly summarize each. b. Evaluate each for its benefits and drawbacks. c. Outline how an individual could effectively reduce waste.



2		a. Explain what is meant by composting. b. Enumerate the benefits and drawbacks of composting and incineration as municipal waste disposal options.



3		Describe the four environmentally acceptable disposal options for household hazardous wastes.



4		In addition to producing less waste, there are methods of reducing the amounts of hazardous waste needing disposal. Identify and briefly describe them.



5		Denmark's toxic waste management system is touted as one of the best in the world. What are the key elements of the Danish approach?



6		The most underrated method of reducing the hazardous waste menace is probably consumer behavior. a. Outline how consumer behavior could become a powerful force for reducing our hazardous waste problems. b. What key steps do you think would be necessary in order to have consumers become the lead force in taming hazardous waste production? c. Several premises underlie the belief stated at the beginning of this question. Identify one of them.



7		Excess packaging is a significant source of municipal solid waste. Identify two different approaches that could be employed to reduce excess packaging. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each.



8		The EPA believes that a disturbingly high proportion of the hazardous waste disposal in the United States is not only illegal but very environmentally damaging. Although we typically think of crimes against individuals, such as assault, rape, or murder as particularly heinous, such illegal acts typically have a single victim. Given the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of victims of illegal waste dumping, single-victim crimes seem mild by comparison. Why do you think people do such broadly destructive things? Give several possible explanations (hypotheses) for such behavior.



9		Over the next few days, make a list of 10 common kinds of things you throw in the trash. Identify the alternatives available to you to avoid having to throw these things away.



10		Nobody wants a landfill, incinerator, or any other waste handling facility in their neighborhood (the NIMBY syndrome). We know how to substantially reduce waste production through use of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Yet, the per capita production of waste continues to rise. a. Identify several hypotheses that you think might explain why people cling to high waste-generating habits. b. Choose one of your hypotheses, and outline an experiment by which it could be evaluated.



11		Some people have suggested that since waste packaging material makes up a substantial part of the municipal waste stream, a waste tax on packaging should be implemented at the wholesale level. In other words, products with no or minimal packaging would not be taxed, while others would be. a. Who are the stakeholders in this issue, and what do you expect their biases to be? b. What is the premise behind the proposal? c. What are the drawbacks to this plan?



12		Some have suggested that a quick way to force the public into less-waste-producing habits is to make it more and more difficult to dispose of waste by any means. In other words, accede to public wishes and do not develop new landfills or incinerators in anybody's community when current ones become filled or obsolete. a. Explain how the proponents of such a plan apparently feel it would work. b. In what ways might the plan backfire on the environment?

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