Section 1:  Solid Waste

Chapter 19 Section 1 Presentation
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Key Terms:

• solid waste
• biodegradable
  
• municipal solid waste
  
• landfill
  
• leachate
  

Main Ideas:

• Every year, people in the United States generate more than 10 billion metric tons of solid waste.
• Materials that are biodegradable, such as newspapers and cotton fibers, can be broken down by biological processes.  Materials that are not biodegradable such as plastics, are a major cause of disposal problems.
  
• Municipal solid waste makes up only a small fraction of the total solid waste generated, but still amounts to over 236 million tons per year.
  
• ​Landfills and incinerators are two facilities used for disposing solid waste.