Ch. 19.2: Reducing Solid Waste

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Ch. 19.2 Reducing Solid Waste
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A. Reduce

• If we produce less waste, we will reduce the
  expense and difficulty of collecting and
  disposing of it.
• Mostly common sense techniques

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A. Reduce

• Buying Less
• Products with less packaging
• Not using unnecessary store bags

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B. Reuse

• Buying products that last longer
• Dish towels instead of paper towels
• The old coke glass bottles that were returned to
  the store, washed, and reused.

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C. Recycle

• Also saves energy and resources
• Ex. 95 less energy is needed to produce aluminum
  from recycled cans than from ore.
• Ex. 70 less energy for paper

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C. Recycle

• A series of steps
• 1) Items must be collected and sorted
• 2) Transport to separate facilities
• 3) Cleaning
• 4) Breakdown and remade
• 5) Sold as new products

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C. Recycle

• Composting
• Yard and kitchen waste make up 15 of a
  communitys solid waste
• All biodegradable
• After breaking down, compost can be used as
  fertilizer

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C. Recycle

• Degradable Plastics
• Photodegradable plastic made so that when it is
  left in the sun for many weeks, it becomes
  brittle and breaks into pieces.

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C. Recycle

• Degradable Plastics
• Green plastic Made by blending plant sugars
  with a special chemical agent.
• Requires 20-50 less fossil fuels
• Degrades within 45 days of being thrown away
  (bacteria break it down)

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C. Recycle

• Degradable Plastics
• Problems These only break down into smaller
  pieces, but these pieces can still remain as long
  as regular plastics.