Urban Waste

Question 1

What % of all products bought become waste within 6 months? By what percentage does waste increase by every year? What causes waste increases? - Urban Waste

Answer 1

90% of all products become waste within 6 months of purchase. Waste increases by 7% each year. Waste increases due to population growth and economic development, with widened middle classes being more consumerist.

Question 2

What is industrial waste? What is commercial waste? Give examples of each - Urban Waste

Answer 2

Industrial waste is any waste produced in industrial activity or manufacturing. This includes scrap metal, solvents and chemicals.
Commercial waste is any waste produced by businesses. This includes food, paper, cardboard and plastics.

Question 3

What is personal waste? What is Municipal Solid Waste? - Urban Waste

Answer 3

Personal waste is any waste produced in private homes. This includes plastic bottles, food packaging and food waste.
Municipal Solid Waste is any waste regarded as rubbish or refuse, not including industrial, medical or agricultural waste.

Question 4

What is a waste stream? - Urban Waste

Answer 4

A waste stream is the flow of waste from its source to its eventual disposal.

Question 5

What issues surround the production of waste? - Urban Waste

Answer 5

Waste causes GHG emissions, is expensive to deal with and can cause health hazards/environmental damage if disposed of improperly.

Question 6

How do economic characteristics (notably wealth) impact waste streams? - Urban Waste

Answer 6

Wealth impacts waste streams as when people become richer, their consumption of goods begins to increase. This means that volumes of waste to be dealt with and their individual waste streams become more complex.

Question 7

What is the most used type of waste in HICs and LICs respectively? - Urban Waste

Answer 7

In HICs, the most used type of waste is paper (31% of all waste), while in LICs, the greatest component of waste is organic waste (responsible for 64% of all waste).

Question 8

What are the environmental issues caused by improper dumping of MSW? - Urban Waste

Answer 8

Improper dumping of MSW can cause human health risks, air pollution and methane decomposition from burning, contamination of land and other environmental damage, loss of resources and improper disposal of recyclables.

Question 9

Why are cities in LICs/NEEs expected to see the greatest increase in waste generation? - Urban Waste

Answer 9

LICs and NEEs are expected to see the largest increase in waste generation due to their rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, both of which will contribute to increasing industrial and construction waste. Furthermore, as these countries develop, their middle classes will expand, creating a more consumerist culture.

Question 10

How do differences in waste generation develop between urban and rural areas? - Urban Waste

Answer 10

Urban areas produce more waste and more manufactured/commercial waste, whereas rural areas produce less waste, although they produce greater levels of organic waste.

Question 11

How do diet and recycling facilities impact the production of waste between urban and rural areas? - Urban Waste

Answer 11

Urban areas consume more processed foods at higher volumes, with this involving packaging and resulting in greater waste compared to rural areas. Facilities to recycle can help to reduce waste levels by responsibly disposing of materials, with these more likely to be available in urban areas than in rural areas.

Question 12

Describe 3 ways in which attitudes can affect waste - Urban Waste

Answer 12

HICs have a consumerist culture which creates greater levels of waste with more complex waste streams. Health concerns over food and use-by dates have created situations in which food is disposed of before it is necessary. Furthermore, attitudes towards the environment are inconsistent, with varying degrees of commitment to reducing waste production.

Question 13

Describe the impacts of waste generation in terms of collection/treatment costs and pollution (water, ground and air) - Urban Waste

Answer 13

In developing countries, governments may spend huge proportions of their budgets on waste management, such is the scale of the problem in terms of costs. Furthermore, waste is a significant source of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.

Question 14

What are the impacts of waste generation in terms of health problems and waste quantity? - Urban Waste

Answer 14

Health problems can develop from untreated or dumped waste, such as cholera, diarrhoea, respiratory issues or dengue fever. Furthermore, cities are now struggling to collect significant quantities of waste which are developing in urban areas, while space to store refuse and waste is in short supply.

Question 15

What is waste reduction? What strategies exist to achieve this? - Urban Waste

Answer 15

Waste reduction is where quantities of waste aim to be lessened. This can be achieved through changing product design for reduced packaging, repairing products, using bags for life and reusing 2nd hand products.

Question 16

What is unregulated waste? What are disadvantages of this? - Urban Waste

Answer 16

Unregulated waste is waste dumped in unofficial and unsupervised spaces. This can damage ecosystems due to environmental impacts, while animals can be harmed if they ingest waste. Water can be damaged by leachate.

Question 17

What is recycling? What are advantages and disadvantages of this? - Urban Waste

Answer 17

Recycling is when waste is reprocessed into new products to mean that new products do not need creating.
Advantages: recycled products use less energy to produce than products made from scratch, reduces demand for raw materials, can prevent environmental damage.
Disadvantages: relies on public commitment to recycle and use facilities requires creation of infrastructure and facilities, causing GHG emissions.

Question 18

What is waste recovery? What are advantages and disadvantages of this? - Urban Waste

Answer 18

Waste recovery is the selective extraction of disposed materials for specific use. Waste materials used to create recovered products.
Advantages: reduces landfill levels, reduces use of natural resources.
Disadvantages: still produces GHG as part of the process, rotting organic materials produce methane.

Question 19

What is waste incineration? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method? - Urban Waste

Answer 19

Waste incineration is the burning of waste to produce energy and reduce volume.
Advantages: reduces amount of waste going to landfill, can generate electricity, reduces fossil fuel use.
Disadvantages: can release toxic chemicals and gases into air or water, emits GHGs, causes air pollution, particulates can enter food chains, not all waste combustible.

Question 20

What is waste burial (landfill)? What are advantages and disadvantages of this? - Urban Waste

Answer 20

Waste burial (landfill) is where waste is places into landfill sites, disused quarries/mines lined with clay to prevent leaking of contaminants.
Advantages: some HICs can convert gases such as methane into energy, reduces air pollution if not burnt, strict regulation exists in HICs, makes use of disused areas.
Disadvantages: groundwater and river quality may be impacted by toxic pollutants seeping into the environment, can attract pests, impacts air quality.

Question 21

What is waste submergence? What are the disadvantages of this? - Urban Waste

Answer 21

Waste submergence is the disposal of waste by dumping it in the oceans. This can release toxic and radioactive substances into oceans, damaging wildlife/ecosystems, while it is also illegal.

Question 22

What is waste trade? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this? - Urban Waste

Answer 22

Waste trade is the international trade or waste for recycling, disposal or further treatment.
Advantages: benefits the environments of HICs, partially restricted by international treaties eg. The Basel Convention.
Disadvantages: inadequate regulation and restriction, areas can become toxic dumps, people exposed to health risks, takes advantage of developing countries.

Question 23

What is Singapore’s waste management policy? When did this develop? - Urban Waste

Answer 23

Singapore’s waste management policy revolves around incineration and recovery of waste, with this developing in the 1980s.

Question 24

What is the name of Singapore’s main landfill site? Describe its features - Urban Waste

Answer 24

Singapore’s main landfill site is called Semakau, with this being an offshore island made of reclaimed land. It is lined with clay and an impermeable membrane to prevent the leaking of waste and is covered in topsoil when full to support vegetation and ecosystems.

Question 25

How many incinerators does Singapore use? What percentage of their electricity does this produce? - Urban Waste

Answer 25

Singapore has 4 incinerators in its city centre, with these providing 3% of the city’s electricity.

Question 26

What public campaigns does Singapore use to encourage sustainable waste management? - Urban Waste

Answer 26

Singapore uses the public campaign of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ to encourage sustainable disposal of waste by its population. Also runs 26 ‘cash for trash’ schemes to encourage recycling.

Question 27

What issues is Singapore facing with its current waste management approach? - Urban Waste

Answer 27

Singapore’s current waste management approach is being pressured by the near filling of Semakau, while its increased waste production is struggling to keep pace with the efforts of the capabilities of its incineration plants.

Question 28

What are successes of Singapore’s incineration strategy? - Urban Waste

Answer 28

Singapore’s strategy reduces waste volume by 90% (meaning only 10% is sent to Semakau), heat produced during energy process converted into electricity, Semakau transformed into a vegetation-supporting area after being filled, only 2% of waste sent to landfill in Singapore, emissions from Semakau plant are relatively clean.

Question 29

What are weaknesses of Singapore’s waste disposal strategy? - Urban Waste

Answer 29

Transportation of waste and collection produces GHG, Semakau near capacity (so new site/strategy change required), Singapore not zero waste/zero landfill, not all harmful emissions removed by incineration, incinerators need replacing every 10 years.

Question 30

What % of Singapore’s waste was sent to landfill in 2020? What % was recycled? - Urban Waste

Answer 30

In 2020, only 2% of Singapore’s waste was sent to landfill. 58% of waste was recycled.

Question 31

How much electricity (MWh) is produced daily by Singapore’s incinerators? How many flats can this power? - Urban Waste

Answer 31

1600 MWh of energy is produced by Singapore’s incinerators daily, powering around 125,000 flats.

Question 32

What % of Singapore’s electricity is provided by incinerators? - Urban Waste

Answer 32

3% of Singapore’s electricity is provided by incinerators.