Task 4. Make up 10 questions to the text and use them to retell it.

Практическое занятие 17. Утилизация отходов.

Task 1. Read and translate the following text.

WASTE MATERIAL UTILIZATION: REUSE, RECYCLE, ENERGY RECOVERY

Recycling is an integral part of any waste management system as it represents a key utilization alternative to reuse and energy recovery (Waste-to-Energy). Which option is ultimately chosen depends on the quality, purity and the market situation.

The quality requirements for waste materials range from reuse to energy recovery (as shown in the figure above). Reuse requires a minimum functionality that reconditioning can be accomplished within certain cost and time limits. Recycling only requires a single material waste stream of high purity (source collection) and a WTE facility is able to process any waste for energy recovery as long as it is not contaminated with hazardous substances.

To meet these requirements the different waste streams (e.g., municipal solid waste, industrial waste, pharmaceutical waste, etc.) must be treated differently. A waste management system of a municipality, county, etc. separates and controls the different waste streams according to the available treatment options in this certain region. However, the rise or fall of a waste management system highly depends on the support of the residents and employees. They take the first step in a long chain of processes by separating their waste stream in direct reusable or recyclable waste streams (e.g., paper, plastics, glass, etc.) and waste that can be used as a fuel for energy recovery.

Life-Cycle Assessments (LCA) can help to decide whether it is sustainable either to reuse or recycle certain waste streams or to recover the energy only. LCA is a comparative methodology used to determine the environmental impact and energy or resource consumption of products and services over their whole life cycles (extraction of the raw materials, production of the product itself, use of the product and treatment after disposal as waste). Any utilization strategy that consumes more resources and energy or has a greater environmental impact then the initial production from primary raw materials is considered “non-sustainable”.

 

Task 2. Explain the italicized words with “re-” prefix from the text. Translate them into Russian.

Task 3. Make up your sentences with italicized words.

Task 4. Make up 10 questions to the text and use them to retell it.

 

Практическое занятие 18. Методы ликвидации твердых отходов.

Task 1. Read and translate the following text.

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL

 

The disposal of solid waste is a problem. This problem continues to grow with the growth of population and development of industries. Disposal of waste in open pits has become routine in majority of places.

Semisolid or solid matter that are created by human or animal activities, and which are disposed because they are hazardous or useless are known as solid waste. Most of the solid wastes, like paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans, and even used cars and electronic goods are not biodegradable, which means they do not get broken down through inorganic or organic processes. Thus, when they accumulate they pose a health threat to people, plus, decaying wastes also attract household pests and result in urban areas becoming unhealthy, dirty, and unsightly places to reside in. Moreover, it also causes damage to terrestrial organisms, while also reducing the uses of the land for other, more useful purposes. Hence sanitary landfills are often used as a method of disposing solid wastes. Here the water is spread into thin layers and covered with earth. Such sanitary provisions help to remove most of the risks of pollution. Most landfills depend on the natural decaying process whereby most of the elements are broken down and returned back to the soil. However, many types of paper, plastics and textiles do not degrade and hence become major causes of pollution to the environment.

Incineration is often resorted to which helps to reduce the volume of solid wastes by burning them off. However, fly ash, toxic fumes and other forms of chemical by products often come out of such a process which are equally contaminant to the environment. Today, new techniques have been formed of scrubbing off pollutants from the incinerator stacks before the incinerators are used. Around 16% of municipal solid wastes are combusted.

Recycling and composting are other ways of solid waste disposal. These methods not only help to enrich the natural supply of earth’s resources but also help to conserve energy in the different manufacturing and mining industries. Steel from scraps and aluminum recovered from cans are widely used in many recycled projects.