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Q2:
List all the wastes that you generate, at home, school or during your trips to other places. Could you very easily reduce the generation of these wastes? Which would be difficult or rather impossible to reduce?
Solution :
Step 1: Categorization of Waste Streams
To analyze waste reduction, we must classify domestic, institutional (school), and transient (travel) waste based on physical state and degradability. [Per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016].
| Source | Waste Type | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Vegetable peels, leftover food, plastic packaging, glass bottles, paper, batteries | Biodegradable & Non-biodegradable |
| School | Waste paper, plastic pens, food wrappers, canteen organic waste | Dry & Wet Waste |
| Travel | Disposable water bottles, snack packets, wet wipes, fuel-related residues | Non-recyclable polymers |
Step 2: Identifying Reducible Waste
Waste reduction strategies rely on the principle of the "3Rs" (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), prioritizing the elimination of consumption at the source.
- Organic Waste (Home/School): Highly reducible through composting or vermicomposting, converting waste into soil nutrients. [Biological Cycle Principle].
- Paper Waste: Reducible by transitioning to digital documentation and double-sided printing.
- Plastic Containers/Glass: Reducible by shifting to bulk buying (reducing packaging) and using reusable glass/metal containers instead of single-use plastics.
Step 3: Identifying Difficult or Impossible Waste
Some waste categories are currently difficult to mitigate due to technological limitations, public health requirements, or systemic industrial dependence.
- Hazardous/Biomedical Waste: Items such as thermometer mercury, expired medicinal strips, or sanitary pads. These represent "unavoidable" waste due to strict hygiene and safety protocols. [Per the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules].
- Technological E-Waste: Internal components of smartphones, laptop motherboards, and integrated circuits. Their complex composition (heavy metals, rare earth elements) makes home-level reduction impossible.
- Multi-layered Packaging: Chips packets and tetra-packs are composed of bonded layers of plastic, aluminum foil, and paper, making them economically unfeasible to separate and recycle efficiently.
Step 4: Visualizing the Waste Management Hierarchy
Step 5: Theoretical Conclusion on Reduction Feasibility
The transition toward a circular economy requires shifting the burden from waste management to waste prevention. While organic waste reduction is a localized mechanical task, the reduction of non-biodegradable, high-entropy waste (like multi-layered plastics) requires policy-level interventions and extended producer responsibility (EPR) rather than individual action alone.
Final Solution: Reduction of organic waste and paper is highly feasible through composting and digital migration. Conversely, reducing hazardous biomedical waste and complex multi-layered industrial packaging is currently difficult due to systemic reliance on these materials for health and shelf-life preservation.
More Questions from Class 12 Biology Environmental Issues EXERCISES
- Q1: What are the various constituents of domestic sewage? Discuss the effects of sewage discharge on a river.
- Q1: What are the various constituents of domestic sewage? Discuss the effects of sewage discharge on a river.
- Q2: List all the wastes that you generate, at home, school or during your trips to other places. Could you very easily reduce the generation of these wastes? Which would be difficult or rather impossible to reduce?
- Q3: Discuss the causes and effects of global warming. What measures need to be taken to control global warming?
- Q3: Discuss the causes and effects of global warming. What measures need to be taken to control global warming?
- Q4: Match the items given in column A and B:
- Q4: Match the items given in column A and B: Column A Column B (a) Catalytic converter (i) Particulate matter (b) Electrostatic precipitator (ii) Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (c) Earmuffs (iii) High noise level (d) Landfills (iv) Solid wastes
- Q5(a): Write critical notes on the following: (a) Eutrophication
- Q5(a): Write critical notes on the following: (a) Eutrophication
- Q5(b): Write critical notes on the following: (b) Biological magnification
- Q5(b): Write critical notes on the following: (b) Biological magnification
- Q5(c): Write critical notes on the following: (c) Groundwater depletion and ways for its replenishment
- Q5(c): Write critical notes on the following: (c) Groundwater depletion and ways for its replenishment
- Q6: Why does ozone hole form over Antarctica? How will enhanced ultraviolet radiation affect us?
- Q6: Why does ozone hole form over Antarctica? How will enhanced ultraviolet radiation affect us?
- Q7: Discuss the role of women and communities in protection and conservation of forests.
- Q7: Discuss the role of women and communities in protection and conservation of forests.
- Q8: What measures, as an individual, would you take to reduce environmental pollution?
- Q8: What measures, as an individual, would you take to reduce environmental pollution?
- Q9(a): Discuss briefly the following: (a) Radioactive wastes
- Q9(a): Discuss briefly the following: (a) Radioactive wastes
- Q9(b): Discuss briefly the following: (b) Defunct ships and e-wastes
- Q9(b): Discuss briefly the following: (b) Defunct ships and e-wastes
- Q9(c): Discuss briefly the following: (c) Municipal solid wastes
- Q9(c): Discuss briefly the following: (c) Municipal solid wastes
- Q10: What initiatives were taken for reducing vehicular air pollution in Delhi? Has air quality improved in Delhi?
- Q10: What initiatives were taken for reducing vehicular air pollution in Delhi? Has air quality improved in Delhi?
- Q11(a): Discuss briefly the following: (a) Greenhouse gases
- Q11(a): Discuss briefly the following: (a) Greenhouse gases
- Q11(b): Discuss briefly the following: (b) Catalytic converter
- Q11(b): Discuss briefly the following: (b) Catalytic converter
- Q11(c): Discuss briefly the following: (c) Ultraviolet B
- Q11(c): Discuss briefly the following: (c) Ultraviolet B
CBSE Solutions for Class 12 Biology Environmental Issues
Chapters in CBSE - Class 12 Biology
- Reproduction in Organisms
- Human Reproduction
- Reproductive Health
- Principles of Inheritance and Variation
- Molecular Basis of Inheritance
- Evolution
- Human Health and Disease
- Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production
- Microbes in Human Welfare
- Biotechnology: Principles and Processes
- Biotechnology and Its Applications
- Organisms and Populations
- Ecosystem
- Biodiversity and Conservation
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