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Destination Conservation: Waste Management
Waste Disposal Analysis

(Adapt to local community.) Call local Waste Management for current information.

Household Waste

  1. Garbage to the landfill - 19,682 metric tonnes
  2. Blue box materials - 45,458 metric tonnes
  3. Leaf/yard waste collection - 4,044 metric tonnes
  4. Home composting (estimate) - 2,400 metric tonnes

Industrial Waste

  1. Garbage to landfill - 21,000 metric tonnes
  2. Recycle materials - 6,250 metric tonnes

Analysis of Data

  1. Prepare a graph to compare the amount of household waste produced to that of national totals/provincial/other locality of same size.
  2. Prepare a graph to show data in Barrie per week.
  3. Why do you think household waste is much lower in countries such as Germany, Sweden, Finland?
  4. Why is it so much higher in the United Sates?
  5. Why would there be a difference in recycling rates on different days of the week?
  6. What is the purpose of recycling bottles and pop cans?
  7. Can you think of any options that would be more efficient than the present recycling program?
  8. What are the most recyclable materials of household garbage?
  9. How can organic matter be recycled? How are communities trying to promote this activity?
  10. What can be made with recycled plastics?
  11. Who appears to be responsible for the costs of the recycling programs in Ontario? Do you think this is fair? Why?
  12. Mr. and Mrs. Goo go shopping at a local grocery store for some pop. When they make their selection, they choose the case of cans. They are convenient, and of course, they can be recycled...and using the blue box is quite fashionable in their neighbourhood. They feel good when they fill their blue box. Mr. and Mrs. Moop go to the same grocery store and want to buy their pop in returnable/reuseable bottles. They find the selection very limited and find that the cost is greater than they expected. They feel that by keeping the blue box close to empty they are being good citizens.