Recycling and Resource Recovery Flashcards

When calculating a community's diversion rate, which of the following materials is typically EXCLUDED from the diversion calculation denominator?

Answer: All of the above are typically excluded

Many jurisdictions exclude C&D debris and HHW from the diversion rate base because these materials are collected through separate programs and skew the residential recycling metric.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging places the financial and physical burden of end-of-life management on:

Answer: Producers and brand owners

EPR shifts the cost and responsibility for post-consumer packaging collection and recycling from municipalities and taxpayers to the companies that produce and sell the packaging.

Which recycling market disruption event in 2018 most significantly impacted US MRF economics?

Answer: China's National Sword policy

China's National Sword policy set a 0.5% contamination threshold on imported recyclables, effectively banning most US mixed recyclables and collapsing commodity revenues for MRFs.

In anaerobic digestion for resource recovery, the primary energy product generated is:

Answer: Biogas (methane-rich)

Anaerobic digestion of organic waste produces biogas, which is approximately 50–70% methane and can be used for electricity generation, heat, or upgraded to renewable natural gas.

What is the purpose of a 'commodity risk fund' or revenue-sharing model in MRF contracts?

Answer: To share both gains and losses from commodity price volatility between the MRF and municipality

Revenue-sharing or commodity risk arrangements align incentives by distributing market risk and reward between the operator and the contracting municipality, stabilizing program finances.

Which plastic resin identification code (RIC) designates polypropylene (PP)?

Answer: 5

RIC #5 designates polypropylene, commonly found in yogurt containers, bottle caps, and food storage containers, and increasingly accepted in curbside programs.

The 'wishcycling' problem in recycling programs refers to:

Answer: Residents placing non-recyclable items in the bin hoping they will be recycled

Wishcycling occurs when residents put unacceptable items in recycling bins out of optimism, increasing contamination and processing costs without improving actual diversion.