Problem 1
Do you think that manufacturers of computers and television sets and other forms of e-waste (Core Case Study) should be required to take them back at the ends of their useful lives for repair, remanufacture, or recycling? Explain. Would you be willing to pay more for these products to cover the costs of such take-back programs? If so, what percent more per purchase would you be willing to pay?
Problem 2
Find three items you regularly use once and then throw away. Are there other reusable items that you could use in place of these disposable items? Compare the cost of using the disposable option for a year versus the cost of using the alternatives.
Problem 3
Use the second law of thermodynamics (p. 35) to explain why (a) dilution is not always the solution to pollution from hazardous wastes and (b) different categories of hazardous waste and recyclable waste should not be mixed.
Problem 4
Changing World Technologies has built a pilot plant to test a process it has developed for converting a mixture of computers, old tires, turkey bones and feathers, and other wastes into oil by mimicking and speeding up natural processes for converting biomass into oil. If this recycling process turns out to be technologically and economically feasible, explain why it could lead to increased waste production.
Problem 5
Would you oppose having a hazardous waste landfill, waste treatment plant, deep-injection well, or incinerator in your community? For each of these facilities, explain your answer. If you oppose these disposal facilities, how do you believe the hazardous waste generated in your community should be managed?
Problem 7
Give your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with each of the following proposals for dealing with hazardous waste: a. Reduce the production of hazardous waste and encourage recycling and reuse of hazardous materials by charging producers a tax or fee for each unit of waste generated. b. Ban all land disposal and incineration of hazardous waste to protect air, water, and soil from contamination and to encourage reuse, recycling, and treatment of wastes to make them less hazardous. c. Provide low-interest loans, tax breaks, and other financial incentives to encourage industries that produce hazardous waste to reduce, reuse, recycle, treat, and decompose such waste.
Problem 9
Congratulations! You are in charge of the world. List the three most important components of your strategy for dealing with (a) solid waste and (b) hazardous waste.
Problem 10
List two questions you would like to have answered as a result of reading this chapter.
