Environmental Science
Name: ______________________________
Waste
Goal: The student will name one characteristic that makes a material biodegradable and identify two types of
solid waste.
Vocabulary:
1. Solid waste
2. Biodegradable
3. Municipal solid waste
Chapter 12.1: Solid Waste
• You have lunch, throw away the garbage…but what happens to it after you ‘toss it away’?
• It is picked up by a collection service and taken to a______________________ where it will be dumped
with thousands of ___________________ of other trash and then covered with a thin layer of
________________________ at the end of the day
• What happens when it is __________________, or ___________________ runs down into the landfill,
dissolving harmful _____________________________ (paint thinner, nail polish remover) and that
seeps into the groundwater?
The Generation of Waste
 Imagine multiplying the waste ____________________ problems associated with your trash plus all the
_____________________ everyone else throws away in a day; most is used once and then thrown away
 US generates more than __________billion metric tons of solid waste (any discarded ______________
material) in a year; this _____________________________ junk mail to coffee grounds to cars
 _______________ generated by Americans has ______________________________ since the 1960’s
Space and Waste
 Many ______________ are running out of space to dispose of the amounts of trash people are producing
 Ex: In 1987, a huge barge full of trash _______________ up and down the East Coast for more than 5
months in search of a place to ___________________ the garbage; it contained____________ tons of
garbage; eventually, it returned to Islip, New York, burned the garbage and finally buried ___________
tons of ash
Population and Waste
 Thousands of years ago, hunter-gatherers had a ________________________ population and most of
the ____________________ created was animal and vegetable matter (biodegradable material); larger
amounts of land per person and disposal of _____________________ was easier
 Earth’s _______________________ and the waste we produce is getting larger; amount of land
available per person is becoming ___________________________; therefore, it is getting harder to find
space to dispose of all the waste we are creating
Not All Wastes are Equal
• The amount of waste is a concern; however, the ________________ of waste are just as important
• ____________ basic kinds: ______________________________ (can be broken down by living
things) and _________________________________________________ (cannot be broken down)
• Examples of biodegradable products: plant and animal matter, newspaper, paper bags, cotton fibers,
leather; examples of non-biodegradable waste are materials created by _____________________
chemicals to form compounds – polyester, nylon, plastic
Plastic Problems
 ___________________________ illustrate how non-biodegradable materials can cause problems.
 Made from _________________________ or natural gas; these consists mostly of _____________ and
hydrogen (same elements which make up most molecules in living things); however, in plastics, when
put together in molecular chains, are _____________ found in nature.
 Microorganisms have evolved the ability to __________________ down nearly all biological molecules,
but have yet to develop a way to break down the ________________________ structure of most plastics
 Some plastics we throw away may __________________________ and last for hundreds of years.
Types of Solid Waste
• Most of what we throw away on a day-to-day basis is called _________________________ solid waste
• However, __________% of the other solid waste comes from manufacturing and mining; 6% is
considered __________________________________
Municipal Solid Waste
 About __________% of the total solid waste in the US is made up of municipal solid waste (produced
by __________________________ and _________________________________
 210 million metric tons of municipal waste produced per yr. in US; enough waste to ___________ a
convoy of garbage trucks that would stretch around the Earth ____________ times!
 Growing _______________________ than manufacturing and mining waste
Solid Waste from Manufacturing, Mining and Agriculture
 Waste from manufacturing, mining and agriculture make up the __________________ of the total solid
waste produced in the US, about ________________% of the total
 Includes items like: scrap metal, plastics, paper, sludge and ash
 Consumers do ___________________ directly produce manufacturing waste but the indirectly
contribute to it by ____________________________ products that have been manufactured
 Mining waste consists of ___________________ and ______________________________ that are left
over from excavation and processing; left exposed in large heaps, dumped in oceans or rivers, or
_____________________________ of by refilling and landscaping abandoned mines
 Agricultural waste makes up ____________% of the total solid waste; includes crop waste and manure
 Agricultural waste is ___________________________________, can be broken down and then returned
to the soil; however, with the ________________________ use of fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural
waste is becoming more ______________________________ to dispose of (harmful to the soil)
Lesson Reflection:
Assessment:
1. Explain what makes a material biodegradable.
2. Compare municipal solid waste and manufacturing solid waste.
Active Reading: Solid Waste
Lesson Extension (Technology/Application/Connection to Real World):
 Modifying Packaging to be Eco-Friendly: Construct a model of eco-friendly packaging for an existing
commercial product.
 YouTube Video – Away: A Story of Trash (26 min)