CPWM Sustainable Waste Management and Resource Recovery 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which indicator best measures progress toward sustainable waste management at the community level?
- Total number of landfill cells constructed
- Per-capita waste disposal rate and diversion percentage (Correct answer)
- Gross tonnage of waste collected annually
- Number of waste collection vehicles in the fleet
Correct 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.
Question 2: A 'secondary materials market' is disrupted when recycled feedstock prices fall below virgin material prices primarily because:
- Recyclers voluntarily withdraw product to inflate prices
- Processing costs for recycled materials become uncompetitive compared to cheap virgin inputs (Correct answer)
- Regulatory agencies mandate exclusive use of virgin materials
- Consumers refuse to buy products with recycled content
Correct 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.
Question 3: Which tool is most appropriate for comparing the environmental impacts of landfilling versus composting food waste?
- Benefit-cost analysis
- Life cycle assessment (LCA) (Correct answer)
- SWOT analysis
- Risk hazard index
Correct 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.
Question 4: A company pursuing ISO 14001 certification for its waste management operations must primarily demonstrate:
- Zero waste to landfill within 12 months
- A systematic environmental management system with continual improvement (Correct answer)
- Revenue from recycled material sales exceeding disposal costs
- Compliance with all local landfill siting regulations
Correct 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.
Question 5: What is 'wishful recycling' (also called 'aspirational recycling') and why is it problematic?
- Setting overly ambitious diversion targets that cannot be achieved
- Placing non-recyclable items in recycling bins hoping they will be recycled, which increases contamination (Correct answer)
- Recycling materials that have no end market but that communities wish were recyclable
- Funding recycling programs through aspirational carbon credits
Correct 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.
Question 6: The 'circular economy' differs from a 'linear economy' primarily in that it:
- Relies on longer supply chains for raw material extraction
- Keeps materials in use through reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling rather than disposing of them (Correct answer)
- Focuses exclusively on recycling post-consumer waste
- Eliminates the concept of product ownership
Correct 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.
Question 7: Which strategy most effectively reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste?
- Increased compaction before landfilling
- Diverting organics to composting or anaerobic digestion (Correct answer)
- Co-disposal with inert construction debris
- Open burning in rural areas to reduce volume
Correct 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.
CPWM Sustainable Waste Management and Resource Recovery 5
Which indicator best measures progress toward sustainable waste management at the community level?