Read the Following Scenario and Answer the Question Below

question 14

Multiple Choice

Read the following scenario and answer the question below.
The prevalence of ʺthrowaway mentalitiesʺ and increased packaging has amplified the consumption of paper and plastic in our society. Disposable plates, cups, and utensils are convenient, sanitary, and inexpensive. Further packaging also preserves freshness, prevents breakage, protects against tampering, provides information to consumers, and allows shipment of products over long distances. However, paper and plastic do not degrade readily in sanitary landfills.
Garbologist William Rathje found legible newspapers in landfills decades after disposal. Because trees used to make virgin paper and petrochemicals used to make plastics may soon become depleted, source reduction is the best solution to the waste dilemma. Denmark has banned the use of non -refillable beverage containers and McDonaldʹs restaurants in Austria and Sweden have been using biodegradable, compostable cutlery. Recycling has value as well, as long as the recycling loop is closed and people purchase recycled items. Bottle bills and municipal curbside collection provide recycling incentives.
Paper recycling is profitable if waste is properly sorted. All kinds of paper and cardboard are recyclable. Food and paperboard (uncorrugated thin coated board) can contaminate collections, however, reducing their value. After processing, paper and cardboard are used to make paper towels and paperboard for packaging cereal, shoes, and toys. Decapped, washed, and squashed plastic is recycled into carpets, pillows, and new bottles. Although low -density polyethylene, or LDPE (recycling symbol #4) , from grocery bags is the most widely used plastic, beverage bottle polyethylene terephthalate, or PETE (symbol #1) , and high-density polyethylene, or HDPE (symbol #2) , are the most widely recycled plastics.
Containers from toxic substances such as motor oil, pesticides, and solvents are not usually accepted with collected plastic because of contamination. Methods to reuse and recycle polystyrene are in development, although presently, Styrofoam is not collected with other plastics and so it is considered a contaminant as well.

-Closing the recycling loop refers to __________.

• A) finding ways to recycle all plastics, including polystyrene
• B) composting of biodegradable plastic
• C) avoiding contamination of plastic and paper collectables during sorting
• D) covering landfills once they have outlived their usefulness and converting them to public parks
• E) purchasing items made from recycled materials

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Definitions:

Machine Breakdowns

Unplanned failures or malfunctions of machinery, often disrupting production processes and requiring repair or replacement.

Direct Materials Quantity Variance

The cost associated with the difference between the actual quantity and the standard quantity of direct materials used in producing a commodity multiplied by the standard direct materials price.

Direct Materials

Raw materials that are directly traceable to the manufacturing of a product and constitute a significant portion of the product's cost.

Direct Materials Quantity Variance

A measure of the difference between the actual quantity of materials used in production and the expected amount, indicating efficiency in material usage.