A practice used by industry to reduce the quality of waste is _____

• A. Recycling
• B. Filtration
• C. Incineration
• D. Reusing without treatment

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how industry lowers the burden of waste by turning it back into useable material. Recycling takes waste streams and reprocesses them into new products, so valuable materials stay in use rather than becoming trash. This directly reduces the amount of waste that must be disposed of and lessens environmental impact, which is why it’s the best fit for decreasing the waste burden. Filtration improves the quality of wastewater by removing solids, and incineration reduces waste volume and can destroy some contaminants, but they don’t reclaim materials for reuse in the economy the way recycling does. Reusing without treatment bypasses processing and can leave contaminants in the loop, which is problematic from a safety and environmental standpoint.