In the 1990 s, Germany passed a law requiring businesses to...

In the 1990 s, Germany passed a law requiring businesses to take back and recycle all forms of packaging. A large group of businesses formed a company to collect and recycle these packages. Its costs are 4.5 cents per pound for glass, 9.5 cents per pound for paper, and 74 cents per pound for plastic. This accounts for a recycling cost of about $$\$ 100$$ per ton for glass and $$\$ 2,000$$ per ton for plastic; the average recycling cost of paper is $$\$ 500$$ per ton. A developing country has offered to create a giant landfill and accept Germany's waste at a cost of $$\$ 400$$ per ton, which includes $$\$ 50$$ per ton sorting and transport costs and a $$\$ 350$$-per-ton fee to be paid to the developing country. a. Should Germany accept this proposal? b. Will the proposal benefit the developing country? LO1, LO2, LO3

In the 1990 s, Germany passed a law requiring businesses to take back and recycle all forms of packaging. A large
group of businesses formed a company to collect and recycle these packages. Its costs are 4.5 cents per pound for glass, 9.5 cents per pound for paper, and 74 cents per pound for plastic. This accounts for a recycling cost of about $$\$ 100$$ per ton for glass and $$\$ 2,000$$ per ton for plastic; the average recycling cost of paper is $$\$ 500$$ per ton. A developing country has offered to create a giant landfill and accept Germany's waste at a cost of $$\$ 400$$ per ton, which includes $$\$ 50$$ per ton sorting and transport costs and a $$\$ 350$$-per-ton fee to be paid to the developing country.
a. Should Germany accept this proposal?
b. Will the proposal benefit the developing country? LO1, LO2, LO3

Key Concepts

Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost is the economic principle that assesses the benefits an organization, government, or individual misses out on when choosing one alternative over another. In the context of waste management, it involves considering what benefits might be forgone by opting for one disposal method instead of investing in recycling or alternative strategies.

Environmental Policy and Regulation

Environmental policy and regulation involves the laws and guidelines that govern how waste is managed. Such policies are designed to promote sustainability, reduce environmental damage, and, in some cases, incentivize recycling over disposal to achieve ecological and economic benefits.

Waste Management Strategies

This concept encompasses the planning and implementation of methods to handle, treat, and dispose of waste. It includes comparing various approaches such as recycling, landfilling, and incineration, taking into account both short-term costs and long-term environmental impacts.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

This concept involves systematically comparing the costs and benefits of alternative actions to determine which provides the greater net advantage. In waste management decisions, it means evaluating the financial implications of recycling versus disposal methods to decide on the most economically effective approach.

Recycling Economics

Recycling economics studies the financial aspects associated with the collection, processing, and reuse of waste materials. It examines material-specific costs, economies of scale, and market prices, helping to inform decisions about whether recycling or alternative disposal methods are cost-effective.

Transcript

00:01 So this problem gives us a lot of information and asks us to answer several questions.

00:08 So letter a says, did the company make, reduce the amount of lead in its product between march and may? and the answer is yes.

00:16 The pb levels went from 3 .5 to 2 .8 to 2 .4.

00:22 So it was reduced.

00:24 B asks which metal was not reduced, and that would be zinc, because zinc went.

00:30 From 2 .7 to 3 .2 to 3 .7.

00:34 So zinc increased, it was not reduced.

00:37 C says each month's sample represents a different manufacturing process, and which process would you recommend the manufacturer choose to continue to use over the next year while additional processes are tested? and i would recommend mays because the overall amount of metals are the lowest in may.

01:01 Question d asks, what is the total amount of the five metals for the april sample? so we just add all of them up.

01:11 3 .2 plus 2 .8 plus 0 .092 plus 1 .6 plus 292.

01:20 And that gives us 36 .892 milligrams per kilogram.

01:26 And that's our final answer for d.

01:28 Letter e asks, what is the total mass in milligrams of the five? metals for the april sample found in the 1 .00 decimeter squared by 0 .05 0 cm sample.

01:47 And so first we need to find the volume.

01:50 So we'll convert both of these into meters.

01:53 1 .000 0 decimeter squared is 0 .1 meters squared and 0 .05 centimeters square or centimeters is 0 .005 meters.

02:04 And so this gives us a volume.

02:06 Volume of 5 .00 times 10 to the negative 6 meters cubed.

02:13 So now we can take our answer from the previous d36 .892 milligrams per kilogram and find just milligrams.

02:26 So we're given an average density of 800 kilograms per meter cubed.

02:34 And then we can multiply by our volume.

02:38 And then meters cubed cancel, kilograms cancel and we get our answer in milligrams, which is 0 .15 milligrams...