Environmental Systems and Societies · Topic 7: Natural resources

ES7.3 — Solid waste

Environmental Systems and Societies · SL / HL · syllabus-mapped notes

1. Waste: sources, types and content

   Classifying waste by source and by type, and the diverse content of solid domestic waste.

2. What shapes waste, and where its impacts fall

   The factors driving variation in waste volume and composition, and how impacts can be felt far from where waste was generated.

3. Pollution and waste-management strategies

   When absorbed waste becomes pollution, the role of biodegradability and half-lives, and why preventative strategies beat restorative ones.

4. Disposal options and promoting sustainability

   The advantages and disadvantages of the main disposal options, and the strategies that promote sustainable management of solid domestic waste.

5. The circular economy

   A holistic perspective on waste, tracing a resource from manufacture through to appropriate product recovery.