Sustainable Waste Management and Resource Recovery 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 Waste Management and Resource Recovery flashcards as text
Which indicator best measures progress toward sustainable waste management at the community level?
Answer: Per-capita waste disposal rate and diversion percentage
Per-capita disposal rate and diversion percentage directly reflect how effectively a community is reducing reliance on disposal and recovering resources.
A 'secondary materials market' is disrupted when recycled feedstock prices fall below virgin material prices primarily because:
Answer: Processing costs for recycled materials become uncompetitive compared to cheap virgin inputs
When virgin material prices drop, recycled feedstock cannot compete on cost, making it economically difficult for manufacturers to choose recycled inputs.
Which tool is most appropriate for comparing the environmental impacts of landfilling versus composting food waste?
Answer: Life cycle assessment (LCA)
LCA evaluates environmental burdens across the entire life cycle, making it the standard tool for comparing alternative waste management options.
A company pursuing ISO 14001 certification for its waste management operations must primarily demonstrate:
Answer: A systematic environmental management system with continual improvement
ISO 14001 certifies that an organization has implemented a structured environmental management system (EMS) committed to ongoing performance improvement.
What is 'wishful recycling' (also called 'aspirational recycling') and why is it problematic?
Answer: Placing non-recyclable items in recycling bins hoping they will be recycled, which increases contamination
Wishful recycling occurs when people place non-recyclable items in recycling bins, which contaminates loads, raises processing costs, and can cause entire batches to be landfilled.
The 'circular economy' differs from a 'linear economy' primarily in that it:
Answer: Keeps materials in use through reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling rather than disposing of them
A circular economy replaces the take-make-dispose linear model by designing out waste and keeping materials circulating at their highest value.
Which strategy most effectively reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste?
Answer: Diverting organics to composting or anaerobic digestion
Diverting organics to composting or anaerobic digestion prevents methane generation in landfills and can produce useful outputs like compost or biogas.