UGC NET Circular Economy & Bio-based Resources: practice questions

1 · Linear versus circular economy; the butterfly diagram · hard

Which statement about the limits of a fully circular economy is correct?

1. The first law of thermodynamics allows materials to be recycled endlessly with no quality loss
2. Recycled materials always have lower life cycle impacts than virgin ones, so loss is irrelevant to the outcome
3. Circularity is limited only by consumer behaviour, since recycling technology has no losses
4. Every loop loses material and quality, so growing demand cannot be met from recycled stocks alone

2 · Biological and technical cycles · hard

Why does the circular economy favour service models for products designed for the technical cycle?

1. Service models allow technical materials to be composted safely at the end of their working life
2. The provider keeps ownership and so has an incentive to design for durability and recovery
3. Ownership by the user is illegal for technical products under ecodesign law
4. Service models remove the need for any reverse logistics or collection systems

3 · Cascading use of biomass · easy

In the biomass value pyramid, which use sits at the broad base (highest volume, lowest value)?

1. Pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals
2. Food
3. Heat and electricity
4. Bio-based materials

4 · Industrial ecology and industrial symbiosis · easy

Which town is the classic example of industrial symbiosis, with a power station, refinery, plasterboard factory and pharmaceutical plant exchanging by-products?

1. Rotterdam, Netherlands
2. Gothenburg, Sweden
3. Kalundborg, Denmark
4. Hamburg, Germany

5 · Industrial ecology and industrial symbiosis · hard

Which lesson from Kalundborg and later planned eco-industrial parks is best supported?

1. Symbiosis works best when a government designs the entire park before any firm arrives on the site
2. Symbiosis succeeds only among firms of the same industrial sector and size
3. Symbiosis requires that every firm be owned by a single parent company
4. Symbiosis needs trust, proximity, stable by-product quality and supportive waste regulation

6 · Material flow analysis and resource-efficiency metrics · medium

A country has domestic extraction of 500 Mt, imports of 200 Mt and exports of 150 Mt. What is its domestic material consumption (DMC)?

1. 700 Mt
2. 850 Mt
3. 550 Mt
4. 450 Mt

7 · Bio-based and biodegradable materials: claims and evidence · hard

What do life cycle assessments of bio-based plastics most often show compared with fossil equivalents?

1. Lower fossil resource use, but higher eutrophication, acidification and land use from crop production
2. Lower impacts in every category, because biogenic carbon makes them carbon negative over their entire life cycle
3. Higher fossil resource use, because fermentation consumes more oil than polymerisation
4. Identical impacts, because the polymer chemistry is the same once the plastic is made

8 · Extended producer responsibility and eco-design · hard

Which standard pair defines eco-design as integrating environmental aspects into product design to reduce adverse impacts over the life cycle?

1. ISO 9001 and ISO 45001
2. ISO 14064 and ISO 14065
3. ISO 50001 and ISO 14031
4. ISO 14006 and IEC 62430

9 · Circular business models · hard

Why does a product-service system not automatically reduce environmental impact?

1. Service contracts are always longer than product lifetimes, so goods are kept in service far too long
2. Product-service systems are forbidden from using remanufactured parts by contract law
3. Product-service systems always require new products to be manufactured for each user
4. Rented goods are sometimes treated carelessly and providers still profit from frequent replacement

10 · Food waste valorisation and biorefineries · medium

Which order follows the food waste hierarchy from most to least preferred for surplus bread at a bakery?

1. Compost, digest, use as animal feed, donate to food banks, prevent overproduction
2. Prevent overproduction, donate to food banks, use as animal feed where legal, digest or compost
3. Incinerate with energy recovery, donate to food banks, prevent overproduction, then compost the remaining crusts
4. Donate to food banks, landfill, prevent overproduction, use as animal feed where legal