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166 Waste Management Practices: Municipal, Hazardous, and Industrial
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Park, Oct 2003. See: http://www.recyclehawaii.org/sept99.htm
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Municipal Solid Waste: Recycling, Oct. 2003. See: http://www.
epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/recycle.htm.

QUESTIONS
1. A material is not truly considered “recycled” until it has proceeded through several dis-
tinct steps, and is ultimately purchased by the consumer. True or false? Justify your
answer. List and discuss the steps.
2. Why have many community recycling programs failed over the past decade? How could
they have been planned, operated and financed to have been more successful?
3. What are the primary approaches to recycling MSW? Which is superior in terms of pro-
ducing a clean, quality product? Which method is often preferred on account of its con-
venience to the consumer? How do total costs differ between the different approaches?
4. How do source reduction, reuse, and recycling differ?
5. Why is price volatility in recycling markets a “given” in the industry?
6. How does purity affect the quality of a recycled product? What can be done (by the con-
sumer, the municipality) in order to improve overall purity?
7. List the three major methods of pulping virgin fiber. How might each method affect the
quality of recycled paper?
8. What is the major limitation on the amount of waste paper that can be recycled in a given
year?
9. How many lifetimes do office paper or newsprint have before it can no longer be effec-
tively recycled? Aluminum? Steel? Glass?
10. List some of the alternative recycling markets for paper, glass, and plastics.
11. Why does aluminum container manufacture from UBCs save substantially more energy
and produce less pollution than using raw materials? Be specific.
12. What are the primary contamination concerns with recycled glass? Recycled aluminum?
13. “Due to the positive net value of scrap aluminum, there is virtually no waste of aluminum
containers in the United States.” True or false? Discuss.
14. List the main manufacturing processes used to transform polymers into a useful form.
Are any of these processes preferable for recycling polymers?
15. What are the two most commonly recycled polymers? In what types of products are they
used?
16. The city of Pristine, Illonois, will develop a comprehensive waste management program
in order to divert waste materials from the county landfill. The city will employ curbside
collection of glass, paper, aluminum, and PETE. What actions can the municipality
undertake that will ensure the success of the recycling program? Consider legislative ini-
tiatives, educational programs, marketing, and other constructive efforts.
17. Suppose the city was to avoid working with a materials broker and instead work directly
with material buyers. What agreements should be specified in a proposal from a recycled
materials buyer?
18. The city is allowing a new recycling company to acquire the abandoned Hi-Jinx
Chemical Company warehouse building for use as a recycling center. List five practical
issues which the company must consider before accepting the building.