Environmental Science
Name: ______________________________
Waste
Goal: The student will identify three ways you can produce less waste, describe how you can use your
consumer buying power to reduce solid waste, list the steps that an item must go through to be recycled, list two
benefits of composting and then name one advantage and one disadvantage to producing degradable plastic.
Vocabulary:
1. Source reduction
2. Recycling
3. Compost
Chapter 12.3: Reducing Solid Waste
Incinerators
• One option for reducing the amount of solid waste sent to landfills is to _____________ it.
• In 1999, the US had ________ operational incinerators that were capable of burning up to 94,000 metric
tons of municipal solid waster ______________________; solid waste does __________ disappear, it’s
just reduced by 75%, taking up ____________________space in landfills
• _________________________ cannot separate the hazardous from the non hazardous waste: therefore,
incinerating the solid waste usually results in __________________________ toxic ash; air is polluted
from the ______________________ produced by incineration
• Places with incinerators tend to recycle _________________ because it requires a certain amount of
solid waste to keep them operating
Reducing solid waste
• If incinerators and landfills are ______________________ and polluting, what are some other options?
• Producing _____________ waste, Recycling, _____________________ the materials used in products
• These methods of reducing solid is known as ___________________________________________
• By producing less waste, we will _________________ the expense and difficulty of collecting and
disposing of it. Ex: use ______________ sides of paper; don’t use unneeded bags, napkins or utensils at
restaurants and stores; don’t buy products with unnecessary packaging; using washable _____________
instead of disposable ones; use ________________________ bottles; redesigning products to use less
material; return to using sturdy products that last longer and can be repaired rather than disposed of
Buying less
 _____________can influence manufacturers to reduce solid waste by buying products that have
___________________ packaging, products that last longer or products that can be used more than once
 Manufacturers will be more likely to make more of these products because the demand for them is
___________________________ex: dishtowels instead of paper towels, ________________________
batteries instead of regular batteries
 Until 1965, nearly _______ bottled drinks were in containers designed to be _______________ to stores
when they were empty; they were collected, washed and ____________________ at bottling companies.
 Today, the ______________________ is for disposable rather than refillable bottles
 If people were to use more refillable bottles, manufacturers would ____________ producing them again
Lasting Longer
 Manufacturers could also _________________ waste and conserve resources by redesigning products to
use _________________ material; thus, saving resources and reduce waste disposal problems.
Recycling
• Recycle as __________________ as possible
• Besides reducing waste, we need to find ways to make the best possible _____________ of all the
materials we ________________________
• Making products from __________________ materials usually saves energy, water and other resources
• Ex: Takes _________% less energy to produce aluminum from recycled aluminum than from ore;
__________% less energy to make steel from scrap ore; ___________% less energy to make paper from
recycled paper than from trees
• Most people think only to recycle ________________, __________ and _______________________
Recycling: A Series of Steps
 Most people think about recycling as taking their bottles, cans and newspapers to a _______________
center or putting these things at the ____________________ in specially marked containers; however,
recycling involves a series of __________________ in order for recycling to work.
 First: discarded materials must be _____________________________ and sorted by type
 Second: each type is __________________ to a facility where it is cleaned and made ready for use
again ex: ____________________ – sorted by color and then crushed; _______________ – sorted by
type and made into pulp with water
 Finally: materials are used to manufacture ___________________ products to be sold to consumers
 If more _____________________ would buy recycled, demand would ___________________ for these
products causing manufacturers to _________________ more facilities to make recycled products.
Thus, making it easier for communities to _______the materials they collect from residents for recycling
Composting
• ________________ waste makes up more than _________% of a communities municipal solid waste;
doesn’t really need to go to a landfill because it is _________________________________
• Can be put in a compost pile and it will_____________________ down naturally
• Adding _____________ and ________________________ trimmings and table scraps will encourage
bacteria to ________________ and break down the waste rapidly (warm, moist and dark conditions)
• Creates compost which can be used in _______________________ because of the rich nutrients
• Some cities provided facilities to take ______________ waste and compost it at a large, central facility
• Composting can also be an effective way of handling waste from ____________ processing plants and
restaurants, ___________________ from animal feedlots and municipal ____________________sludge.
• If __________ biodegradable wastes were composted, the amount of solid waste going to landfills could
be _________________________.
Changing the Materials we Use
• Much waste could be ________________________ by changing the materials used to package products
• Ex: ________________ boxes are make of a combination of foil, cardboard and plastic and are hard to
recycle because there is no good way to separate the ________________ different components: could
be recycled if they were eliminated and all drinks came in recyclable glass or aluminum containers
• ____________________ other common household products can help eliminate solid waste, for example,
_______________________________ can be made into cardboard, egg cartons, and building materials;
used _____________________________ cans can be recycled to make new cans, lawn chairs,
aluminum siding for homes and cookware; _____________________ bottles and jars can be made into
new glass bottles and jars; ________________________ beverage containers to be made into nonfood
containers, insulation, carpet yarn, textiles, fiberfill, scouring pads, toys, plastic lumber and crates.
Degradable Plastics
 Most plastics are ______________ biodegradable, some companies have developed new kinds of
____________________________ that they say are degradable
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One type is called __________________________________ plastic: when left in the ___________ for
many weeks, it becomes _________________ and brittle and eventually breaks into pieces
Another type is called ___________________ plastic: made by blending the ___________________ in
plants with a special chemical agent to make plastic; labeled as green because they are made from
_________________________ things; requires 20-50% less fossil fuel to produce, engineered to
degrade within ___________ days of being thrown away
When green plastic is _____________________, bacteria in the soil eat the sugars and leave the plastic
weakened and full of microscopic ___________________; chemical agents in the plastic break the
longer molecules into ______________________ ones until it eventually falls apart into small pieces
Problems with Degradable Plastics
 The biggest ________________________ with the degradable plastic is that the organic parts degrade
and the plastic parts are only ________________________ to smaller pieces; helps the animals in the
environment because they cannot _____________________ on the plastic pieces, but those pieces do
not completely disappear
Lesson Reflection:
 Read and answer the question about degradable plastics on the handout provided.
 Using page 309 to complete the diagram and answer the 2 questions about solid waste incinerators.
Assessment:
1. Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of incinerating solid waste.
2. Name three things you could do each day to produce less waste.
3. List two benefits of composting.
Active Reading: Reducing Solid Waste
Lesson Extension (Technology/Application/Connection to Real World):
 Paper vs Plastic Activity