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Waste and pollution C1-C2 Vocabulary List

waste and pollution

Waste and pollution are two words that are frequently used when talking about the environment. Waste is the act of using something in a careless or unnecessary way, causing it to be lost or destroyed, and pollution is the process of making air, water, soil, etc. dirty.

Fill the gap in each sentence with one word or expression from the box. Look up the words in Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and use the information in the entry to help you.

acid rain, biodegradable, compost, contaminate, disposal, dumped, food miles, leach, microplastics, typhoon


1. Bacteria are necessary in order to create ____________ from food waste.

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compost

2. _________________ can come from large plastics that are broken down by the environment.

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Microplastics

3. Dumping waste in the river will __________________ the local water supply.

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contanimate

4. Packaging often contains plastics which are not __________________ .

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biodegradable

5. Nitrates ___________ from the soil into rivers.

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leach

6. Sulphur dioxide emissions that cause _____________ have been reduced by 57% in Canada.

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acid rain

7. Too much toxic waste is being __________________ at sea.

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dumped

8. Waste ______________ is a big issue around the world.

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disposal

9. We keep ____________________ to a minimum by sourcing products locally.

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food miles

How many did you get? Let us know in the comments!

Want more?

You can build your topic vocabulary with the groups of words related to the environment, such as waste and pollution, in this mini-dictionary.

Why not try our Conservation (C1-C2) vocabulary exercise too? Or try an easier activity with our Waste and pollution (A1-B2) words?

 

 

 

 

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