GCSE Settlement Module

1. • 350kg of waste per person per year~ what can we do with it?
Energy Recovery
Waste material is converted into energy
eg. incineration – but adds to CO2
Landfill emissions and releases other pollutants.
Waste is dumped in old Some modern incinerators generate
quarries/hollows. It is unsightly, toxins electricity or power neighbourhood heating
can leak into groundwater and it scheme (eg. Bernard Road, Sheffield)
produces methane (a greenhouse gas)
Composting Recycling
Organic kitchen waste can make compost Waste can be reused if it can be
– used to improve soil. Can work on a collected efficiently. Initial start-up
large scale in an enclosed reactor – costs can be high + value of
biogases can produce energy supply and material produced may be low
solid residue can be used as soil improver (eg. local authority blue bins, green
bins or boxes)
 Old car tyres are cut up and used
Learning from LEDC’s to make cheap sandals
 Tin cans and old oil drums are
 Often an important part of the ‘informal’economy used to make charcoal stoves,
lamps, buckets and metal tips for
ploughs
 Glass bottles are collected and
returned to stores for refilling
 Food waste is collected and fed
to animals or composted for
vegetable plots
Traffic congestion is one of the most serious problems faced by our towns and cities
(pollution, time-wasting, cost, accidents, loss of green land)
So ~ what can we do??????????
 GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR CARS
 Congestion charge
 Modern light railways/trams
 Bus lanes
 Cheap fares policy
 Integrated transport systems eg. Tyneside Metro
Amh3/06

2.  Trees and open space are vital to a good environment
 Some areas are promoting tree planting (eg. South Yorkshire Forest)
Flooding in urban areas is more likely now than ever before. WHY?
 More buildings = impermeable surfaces
 More roads = impermeable surfaces
 More cars ~ people pave over their gardens for parking = more
impermeable surfaces
 Demand for housing = building on flood plains = more homes at risk
Some cities are looking more at SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) which
rely more on ‘soft’ engineering eg. more plants and grass in urban areas, direct more
rainwater into soil rather than straight down drains
TASK
 You have been asked to give a talk to a group of 6 th form students
 You need to produce a presentation to try and answer this question
 Is it possible to live sustainably in urban areas?
 You need to focus on both what individuals can do as well as what
councils/government should be doing
 You should hand in your work as a handout of 3 slides to a page
Amh3/06