Sustainable Materials Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CPWM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Sustainable Materials Management flashcards as text
Which procurement strategy directly advances SMM goals within government operations?
Answer: Environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) policies prioritizing recycled content and durability
Environmentally preferable purchasing policies drive market demand for recycled-content products, close the recycling loop, and incentivize manufacturers to design more sustainable products.
A facility generates 50 tons/year of used motor oil. Under SMM principles, what is the preferred management pathway?
Answer: Re-refining into base lubricating oil for reuse
Re-refining used motor oil back into base lubricating oil preserves the highest material value and requires less energy than virgin oil production, making it the preferred SMM pathway.
What is the primary limitation of using 'recycling rate' as the sole metric for SMM program success?
Answer: It ignores material quality, market conditions, and upstream source reduction efforts
Recycling rate measures tonnage diverted but ignores whether materials are actually recycled into new products, the value of material recovered, or the greater priority of source reduction upstream.
In SMM terminology, what does 'cascading use' of biomass refer to?
Answer: Sequential use of bio-based materials in progressively lower-value applications before final energy recovery
Cascading use maximizes the value extracted from bio-based materials by using them first in high-value material applications and progressively lower-value uses before final energy recovery, mirroring the waste hierarchy.
Which scenario best demonstrates the 'rebound effect' as a challenge to SMM goals?
Answer: Fuel efficiency improvements in vehicles leading consumers to drive more miles, offsetting energy savings
The rebound effect occurs when efficiency gains are offset by behavioral changes that increase consumption — fuel-efficient vehicles prompting more driving is the classic example applicable to SMM resource efficiency efforts.
A company conducts a 'material risk assessment' as part of its SMM strategy. What is the PRIMARY purpose of this assessment?
Answer: To evaluate supply chain vulnerability to critical material scarcity and price volatility
Material risk assessments in SMM identify which materials in a company's supply chain are at risk of scarcity, price volatility, or supply disruption, enabling substitution, efficiency, and circular economy strategies.
When the EPA describes 'sustainable materials management' as a 'systemic approach,' what does this primarily mean?
Answer: That materials must be managed considering environmental impacts across the full supply chain and lifecycle
A systemic approach means evaluating environmental, economic, and social impacts across the entire material lifecycle — from extraction through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life — rather than focusing only on disposal.