IB Environmental systems and societies 7.3 Solid Waste Questionbank

(d) Evaluate the use of incineration as a management strategy for the high proportions of plastics and paper observed in 2020.

(a) Outline the reasons why natural capital has a dynamic nature.

(b) Explain how the inequitable distribution of natural resources can lead to conflict.

(a) Distinguish between domestic and agricultural sources and types of waste.

(b) Using named examples, discuss the usefulness of consequentialist ethics in helping us make decisions regarding our choice of energy source.

(a) Compare the characteristics of point source pollution and non-point source pollution, providing a named example for each.

(b) Using the pollution management model, evaluate strategies to manage the impact of non-biodegradable plastic waste in marine ecosystems.

The following table shows the average composition of solid domestic waste (SDW) for a metropolitan area in a High-Income Country (HIC).

Total annual waste produced: $1.4$ million tonnes.

(a) Calculate the total mass of paper and cardboard waste generated by this metropolitan area annually.

(b) Explain why the proportion of food and organic waste is typically much higher in the waste streams of Low-Income Countries (LICs) than in High-Income Countries (HICs).

(c) Evaluate the use of incineration as a strategy for managing solid domestic waste.

(e) Outline one way in which a "pay-as-you-throw" (unit-based pricing) policy can influence the total volume of solid domestic waste produced by a household.

(c) The management of a resource can impact the production of solid domestic waste.

To what extent have the three levels of the pollution management model been successfully applied to the management of solid domestic waste?

(c) Strategies for energy conservation are mainly ecocentric, while those for energy efficiency are mainly technocentric. Discuss this statement in relation to the strategies needed to achieve energy security.

(c) “The success of pollution management is determined more by cultural and economic factors than by the availability of technological solutions.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?