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Geography Quiz - Recycling (Questions)

Recycling is more than sorting rubbish into bins, it is about saving energy, cutting pollution, and managing resources, key ideas explored in this GCSE Geography quiz.

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Fascinating Fact:

Contamination, such as food left in containers or the wrong materials in a recycling bin, can reduce the quality of recycled materials and increase costs.

In GCSE Geography, recycling is studied as part of resource management and sustainability. You learn how reusing materials reduces pressure on natural resources, cuts landfill, saves energy, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions from waste.

Key Terms

  • Recycling: Processing used materials so they can be turned into new products instead of being sent to landfill or incineration.
  • Contamination: When unsuitable or dirty items end up in recycling, lowering material quality and making sorting more difficult and expensive.
  • Landfill: A site where waste is buried in the ground, often producing pollution and greenhouse gases such as methane.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What does recycling mean in GCSE Geography?

In GCSE Geography, recycling means collecting, sorting, and processing waste materials so they can be reused as new products. It is part of sustainable resource management and helps reduce the use of raw materials.

Why is contamination a problem for recycling schemes?

Contamination is a problem because food, liquids, or incorrect items can spoil whole loads of recycling. This can damage machinery, increase sorting costs, and sometimes force materials to be sent to landfill instead.

How can households recycle more effectively?

Households can recycle more effectively by rinsing containers, checking local council guidelines, keeping non recyclable items out of recycling bins, and reducing unnecessary packaging where possible.

Try These Related Quizzes

1. What is recycling?
[ ] Going round in circles
[ ] Using waste materials to make new materials
[ ] Reshaping plastics
[ ] Taking a product and repairing it
2. Which of the following cannot be recycled?
[ ] Dried paint
[ ] Wood
[ ] Copper pipe
[ ] Plastic bottles
3. Why is recycling important?
[ ] It reduces the amount of waste going into landfill
[ ] It can help to reduce the amount of energy used by the secondary sector of industry
[ ] It conserves resources for future generations
[ ] All of the above
4. Wood can be recycled to make...
[ ] bottles
[ ] tyres
[ ] panel boards like MDF and chipboard
[ ] It is not possible to recycle wood
5. Why does recycling metals reduce the amount of energy required to make metal items?
[ ] The recycled metal does not need to be extracted from its ore
[ ] It is lighter
[ ] The people who collect the metals for recycling pay steelworks to take it away
[ ] All of the above
6. How does recycling make a positive contribution to climate change?
[ ] It uses less energy so fewer greenhouse gases go into the air
[ ] The gases given off when a material is recycled are different to the ones that cause the greenhouse effect
[ ] Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the materials during recycling
[ ] The gases given off during recycling are easier to absorb
7. Apart from helping with climate change, recycling is sensible because...
[ ] items made from recycled materials are always cheaper
[ ] it creates more landfill
[ ] it helps a LEDC develop into a MEDC
[ ] it conserves the Earth's resources
8. Why are alloys difficult to recycle?
[ ] They don't melt
[ ] They are too heavy
[ ] They are toxic
[ ] They are mixtures of metals
9. Which of the following is not an advantage of recycling metals?
[ ] Less energy is required
[ ] Collection and sorting takes time and money
[ ] Slows down the rate at which non-renewable resources are used up
[ ] Less rubbish going into landfills
10. Repairing and reusing for personal use is widespread in LEDCs. Which of the following is the best explanation?
[ ] It saves them money
[ ] They are better educated and realise that repairing and reusing items is important
[ ] They want to save the world from destruction
[ ] It is the law
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Geography Quiz - Recycling (Answers)
1. What is recycling?
[ ] Going round in circles
[x] Using waste materials to make new materials
[ ] Reshaping plastics
[ ] Taking a product and repairing it
Not all materials can be recycled, for example certain types of plastic like bakelite
2. Which of the following cannot be recycled?
[x] Dried paint
[ ] Wood
[ ] Copper pipe
[ ] Plastic bottles
It is inevitable that some materials will end up in landfills, not everything can be recycled or reused
3. Why is recycling important?
[ ] It reduces the amount of waste going into landfill
[ ] It can help to reduce the amount of energy used by the secondary sector of industry
[ ] It conserves resources for future generations
[x] All of the above
There are many benefits to recycling
4. Wood can be recycled to make...
[ ] bottles
[ ] tyres
[x] panel boards like MDF and chipboard
[ ] It is not possible to recycle wood
Panel boards are used in the construction industry and for making flat-pack furniture. Other things made from recycled wood include animal bedding, landscaping surfaces and play area surfaces
5. Why does recycling metals reduce the amount of energy required to make metal items?
[x] The recycled metal does not need to be extracted from its ore
[ ] It is lighter
[ ] The people who collect the metals for recycling pay steelworks to take it away
[ ] All of the above
Getting a metal from its ore takes a lot of energy. Recycling metals like iron and steel means that they only have to be melted, which takes a lot less energy than starting with the ore in the ground
6. How does recycling make a positive contribution to climate change?
[x] It uses less energy so fewer greenhouse gases go into the air
[ ] The gases given off when a material is recycled are different to the ones that cause the greenhouse effect
[ ] Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the materials during recycling
[ ] The gases given off during recycling are easier to absorb
Manufacturing items from raw materials takes more energy, most of which comes from burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Recycling takes less energy so less carbon dioxide goes into the air
7. Apart from helping with climate change, recycling is sensible because...
[ ] items made from recycled materials are always cheaper
[ ] it creates more landfill
[ ] it helps a LEDC develop into a MEDC
[x] it conserves the Earth's resources
This means that many resources that we use today will still be available to future generations
8. Why are alloys difficult to recycle?
[ ] They don't melt
[ ] They are too heavy
[ ] They are toxic
[x] They are mixtures of metals
However hard we try, there will always be some materials that we cannot recycle
9. Which of the following is not an advantage of recycling metals?
[ ] Less energy is required
[x] Collection and sorting takes time and money
[ ] Slows down the rate at which non-renewable resources are used up
[ ] Less rubbish going into landfills
Collection of any material for recycling requires the use of energy, however, there are more advantages than disadvantages of recycling metals
10. Repairing and reusing for personal use is widespread in LEDCs. Which of the following is the best explanation?
[x] It saves them money
[ ] They are better educated and realise that repairing and reusing items is important
[ ] They want to save the world from destruction
[ ] It is the law
The population of a LEDC is generally much poorer than populations of MEDCs and must repair and reuse as much as they can
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