A waste authority deals with 18 000 tonnes of household waste each year. At present, all the waste is sent to landfill.
A species-rich heathland is next to the existing waste site. The authority is considering two plans that would use part of the heathland. The authority can afford either plan and aims to reduce the mass of waste sent to landfill by at least 70%.
| Plan A: extend the landfill | Plan B: build a recycling centre | |
|---|---|---|
| Area of heathland used in hectares | 10 | 3 |
| Waste recycled each year in tonnes | 0 | 13 500 |
| Waste sent to landfill each year in tonnes | 18 000 | 4 500 |
| Estimated cost over 10 years in £ million | 18 | 27 |
The authority prefers Plan B.
Using the information in the table and your knowledge, evaluate the authority's preferred plan.
84 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Biology 7.3 Biodiversity and the effect of human interaction on ecosystems, covering 7.3.1 Biodiversity, 7.3.2 Waste management, 7.3.3 Land use, 7.3.4 Deforestation, 7.3.5 Global warming, and 7.3.6 Maintaining biodiversity. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.