Environmental Science Chapter 19 Section 2 Reducing Solid Waste Environmental Science Chapter 19 Section 2

Reducing Solid Waste Source reduction Any change in design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste. Essentially, we are trying to reduce the amount of waste.

Reducing Solid Waste Buying Less Lasting Longer Buy products that have less packaging. Buy products that last longer. But reusable products. Examples: Cloth towels instead of paper. Rechargeable batteries. Use refillable water bottles. Lasting Longer Waste could be reduced and resources conserved by redesigning products to use less material. Also designing products to be easily repaired.

Recycling The process of reusing materials or recovering valuable materials from waste or scrap. Recycling: A Series of Steps Discarded materials must be collected and sorted by type. Each type of material must be taken to a facility where it can be cleaned and made ready to be used again. Materials are used to manufacture new products. New products are sold to consumers.

Recycling Composting Yard waste often makes up more than 15% of a community’s solid waste. Biodegradable materials can be put into a compost pile to decompose. Compost – a dark brown, crumbly material made from decomposed plant and animal matter that is spread on gardens and fields to enrich the soil.

Changing the Materials We Use Changing the materials that we use could eliminate much of the solid waste we produce. Many items are difficult to recycle because of how they need to be separated. Recycling materials into others also helps. Newspapers can be used to make cardboard. Aluminum cans can be used to make siding for houses.

Changing the Materials We Use Degradable Plastics Photodegradable plastic When this type of plastic is left in the sun for many weeks, it becomes weak and brittle and eventually breaks into pieces. Green plastic Made by blending the sugars in plants with a special chemical agent to make plastic. Labeled green since they are made from living things and are considered more environmentally friendly. The plastic is engineered to degrade within 45 days of being thrown away.

Changing the Materials We Use Problems with Degradable Plastics Although they do break apart and the organic parts can degrade, the plastic parts are only reduced to smaller pieces. The plastic will not disappear completely. The plastic pieces can be easily spread around.