Solving the problem of waste disposal
Read Solving the problem of waste disposal and check the IELTS Reading answers. For many years, burning rubbish has been portrayed as the lazy option when it comes to dealing with the problem of waste disposal, since it sends toxic fumes into the air and appears to support a consumerist, throwaway…
Passage preview
For many years, burning rubbish has been portrayed as the lazy option when it comes to dealing with the problem of waste disposal, since it sends toxic fumes into the air and appears to support a consumerist, throwaway society. Norway, however, appears to be burning its way through a sizable chunk of Europe's municipal waste, using the heat created by this process to warm and power homes in many of its cities. Norway isn't alone: Germany, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands all burn significant quantities of rubbish, and across Europe there are 420 plants burning municipal waste. With Europe dumping 150 million tonnes of rubbish into landfill* every year, there would seem to be a limitless supply.
Vocabulary from this passage
13 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- align verb
To bring something into agreement or correct relative position with something else.
Companies must align their marketing strategies with the values of younger, eco-conscious consumers.
- brand damage noun
Harm done to a company's public reputation, often leading to lost trust or reduced sales.
The product recall caused significant brand damage that took years for the company to repair.
- clear-cut adjective
Entirely obvious or definite, without ambiguity or room for differing interpretation.
The evidence against the policy was not clear-cut, leaving room for debate among economists.
- combustion noun
The chemical process of burning, especially one that releases heat and light.
Engineers improved the engine's combustion efficiency to reduce harmful exhaust emissions.
- consumerist adjective
Relating to a society that values high and ever-increasing consumption and the acquisition of goods.
Critics argue that constant advertising fuels a disposable, consumerist mindset among young shoppers.
- deep-seated adjective
Firmly established and difficult to change, typically describing beliefs, values, or emotions.
Overcoming deep-seated prejudices requires sustained education rather than a single awareness campaign.
- generate demand verb
To create or increase the desire or need for a particular product or service.
Aggressive marketing campaigns can generate demand for products that consumers never previously needed.
- implications noun
The probable consequences or effects that an action, decision, or situation will have.
Economists are still debating the long-term implications of the central bank's interest-rate decision.
- inception noun
The beginning or establishment of an organisation, process, or project.
The charity has tracked every donation's journey from inception to final distribution.
- incineration noun
The controlled burning of waste material, often used to reduce its volume or generate energy.
The city's new incineration plant converts household rubbish into electricity for nearby neighbourhoods.
- minuscule adjective
Extremely small in size, amount, or degree, to the point of being almost negligible or unimportant.
The survey found a minuscule difference between the two candidates' approval ratings.
- recycling hierarchy noun
A ranked set of waste-management priorities, running from prevention and reuse down to recycling and disposal.
Under the EU's recycling hierarchy, manufacturers are urged to reduce packaging before considering recycling it.
- swiftly adverb
In a prompt, rapid manner, often implying urgency or efficiency.
Emergency services responded swiftly to contain the chemical spill before it spread further.
Answers with explanations
- 14. iv
Paragraph A opens by describing burning rubbish as a lazy, polluting shortcut, then uses ‘however’ to reveal that **Norway** actually heats and powers homes this way. It adds that Norway isn’t alone, since **Germany, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands** also burn significant quantities of rubbish. This shift from stigma to widespread **incineration** across several nations is the surprise the heading names, distinguishing it from paragraphs about terminology, justifications, or criticism, which concern single arguments rather than a list of countries adopting the same approach.
- 15. vii
Paragraph B stacks several defences of incineration together: modern **filters and scrubbing mechanisms** now capture mercury and heavy metals, Ted Michaels confirms output is now **minuscule**, and supporters argue incineration is the only way to prevent landfill’s long-term impact given the World Bank’s projected **2.2 billion tonnes** of future waste. Because the paragraph combines technological, environmental, and practical justifications rather than one single claim, it matches the heading naming a number of justifications, not the heading about criticism from a country that already burns waste, which appears later.
- 16. vi
Paragraph C shifts from consumption data to **Lars Haltbrekken**, chairman of Friends of the Earth in **Norway** — a country that already burns large volumes of waste — voicing concern that incineration plants generate **demand** for rubbish, leading Norway to import waste from abroad. He concludes that burning is a lazy way of getting rid of waste that fails to encourage reducing, reusing or recycling. Because the critic himself lives in a heavy-incineration country, this matches the heading about arguments against incineration from a country that uses it, not the justification heading in paragraph B.
- 17. i
Paragraph D traces waste-management language evolving from the EU’s **recycling hierarchy** through ‘cradle to grave’ to the newer terms ‘cradle to cradle’ and **zero waste**, explicitly stating that ‘now, the talk is of’ these replacement phrases. Joan Marc Simon then defines cradle to cradle philosophically, designing products safe at their end of life. Because the paragraph’s organising idea is vocabulary change tracking evolving attitudes, not a specific argument or country, it matches the heading on **new terminology**, rather than headings about difficult choices or behavioural change used for neighbouring paragraphs.
- 18. v
Paragraph E quotes Tim Burns noting that composting or **not buying** food in the first place costs retailers money, so the choice ‘is not always clear-cut’ for shoppers. He then turns to supermarkets, which keep shelves **well-stocked** even without demand because the **brand damage** of empty shelves outweighs the cost of disposing of surplus food. Because the paragraph presents dilemmas facing both ordinary consumers and retailers, it matches the heading on difficult choices for individuals and businesses, rather than the terminology or behaviour-change headings used for neighbouring paragraphs.
- 19. ii
Paragraph F opens by saying recent history should prepare readers for **unexpected developments**, then has Richard Fisher recall that nobody in the 1980s predicted today’s waste patterns: **consumerism** grew faster than expected, electronic waste exploded, yet recycling also rose beyond prior forecasts. Fisher then looks ahead, arguing that future progress needs government **leadership** rather than short-term economic goals. Because the paragraph spans both an unpredictable past and a hoped-for future shift, it matches the heading on fundamental changes in behaviour in the past and future, not the terminology heading used for paragraph D.
- 20. F
Ted Michaels, president of the US-based Energy Recovery Centre, states that **combustion engineering** and **emissions-control technology** have constantly evolved, so the output from incineration facilities ‘is now minuscule.’ This **minuscule** output directly supports the view that incineration is now relatively harmless to the environment, since pollution levels have fallen to a negligible amount. This rules out the opinion claiming incineration discourages responsible waste habits, which belongs to a different, more critical speaker, and the opinion about consumerism driving waste, which concerns quantity rather than emissions.
- 21. C
Joergen Fenhann, a senior scientist with the UN Environment Programme, explains that waste generation is a problem for **developed nations** because ‘the more you develop, the more you produce, buy and throw away.’ This directly links rising **consumerism** — developing, buying, producing — to greater volumes of rubbish, matching the opinion that greater consumerism leads to higher waste levels. It rules out the opinion about incineration’s harmlessness, which belongs to Ted Michaels, and the opinion about **recycling** creating future problems, which no speaker in this passage raises.
- 22. D
Joan Marc Simon of the environmental movement GAIA describes a bottle designed with no toxins and full **recyclability**, then warns that without the right **mechanisms** in place, ‘nothing guarantees that this bottle will end up being properly collected and treated in the appropriate recycling facility.’ This shows that an eco-friendly product alone is not enough; proper **collection systems** are also required, matching the opinion about systems for recycling environmentally friendly products rather than the opinion about landfill being preferable to incineration, which he never states.
- 23. G
Tim Burns, policy manager at Keep Britain Tidy, explains that supermarkets keep shelves **stocked** even without demand because disposing of surplus food costs ‘less to them than the cost in **brand damage** of having empty shelves.’ This means reducing food waste by stocking less would risk visible empty shelves and harm the retailer’s reputation and **profits**, matching the opinion that efforts to reduce waste may affect company profits, not the opinion about consumerism driving waste levels, which Joergen Fenhann voices instead.
- 24. electronic
The gap follows ‘unexpected growth in waste from’ and needs an **adjective** describing a type of product. Richard Fisher recalls that nobody predicted ‘there would be so much **electronic** waste,’ directly naming the category that grew unexpectedly. The passage supplies the word verbatim, satisfying the one-word limit, and it fits grammatically before ‘products.’ No other noun in the paragraph names a product category experiencing surprising growth, so alternatives like ‘consumerism’ or ‘recycling’ would not fit the required adjective slot describing the waste type.
- 25. business
The gap needs a **noun** naming what consumers might influence more. Fisher asks whether ‘it’s **business** that drives consumers or the other way around,’ implying consumers currently have limited sway over business decisions. The passage supplies ‘business’ as the exact word fitting ‘influence over ___’, within the one-word limit. ‘Consumers’ cannot fill the gap since the sentence already names consumers as the influencing party, and ‘government’ is reserved for the following gap about **leadership** and direction, not consumer influence.
- 26. government
The gap needs a **noun** naming the source of extra ‘direction.’ Fisher states ‘you need **government** to play a leadership role,’ contrasting this with countries like the UK stepping away from the environment for short-term economic goals. ‘Government’ is copied verbatim and fits the one-word limit after ‘provided by.’ ‘Business’ is excluded because the previous gap already assigns it to consumer influence, and the passage distinguishes **leadership** direction from business-driven consumer behaviour, so only government satisfies this gap.