Q 01/05

Which furnace makes new steel mainly by melting scrap instead of smelting ore?

A) Blast furnace

B) Electric arc furnace

C) Basic oxygen furnace

D) Puddling furnace

Answer · why

B) Electric arc furnace

Electric arc furnace: it melts scrap with an electric arc instead of smelting ore in a blast furnace, which helps make steel one of the world's most r...

Q 02/05

What term describes converting waste into new materials of lesser quality than the original?

A) Upcycling

B) Downcycling

C) Pre-cycling

D) Biorecycling

Answer · why

B) Downcycling

Downcycling: in a 1994 interview Reiner Pilz complained that demolition crews smashed old bricks into rubble and called it recycling. 'I call it downc...

Q 03/05

What is a recycling system called where paper, plastics, metals and containers all go in one collection bin?

A) Single-stream recycling

B) Source separation

C) Dual-stream recycling

D) Curbside sorting

Answer · why

A) Single-stream recycling

Single-stream recycling puts everything in one bin and leaves the sorting to machines later; more households take part, but more of what they put out ...

Q 04/05

What policy makes manufacturers pay for collecting and recycling their own goods once customers discard them?

A) Pay-as-you-throw charging

B) Right-to-repair legislation

C) Landfill diversion targets

D) Extended Producer Responsibility

Answer · why

D) Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended Producer Responsibility moves the cost of dealing with worn-out goods from town halls to the firms that made them, which gives those firms a ...

Q 05/05

A notebook labelled '100% post-consumer recycled' is made from which source of paper?

A) Paper-mill offcuts

B) Used household paper

C) Timber-yard sawdust

D) Forest thinnings

Answer · why

B) Used household paper

Used household paper: 'post-consumer' means the paper has already served a customer. Mill offcuts routinely go straight back into the pulp, so they ar...