Every industry has its share of elusive acronyms and terminology. Here’s a glossary list to help you learn the lingo of the waste management industry.
Waste made by companies, retail, wholesale, entertainment, or the government.
Waste that is made from harmful chemicals.
An economy regenerative by design, aiming to optimise the value of products, parts, and materials.
Manufacturing in which waste is minimised, and toxic prevention practices are continuously applied.
A system that enhances supply chain sustainability, by recycling all of the materials in manufactured goods, usually to make the same type of product.
Waste from a trade or business, or activity related to sport, recreation, education or entertainment. It excludes household, agricultural or industrial waste.
Decayed organic material, used as a fertiliser for growing plants.
Waste, excluding hazardous waste, that is produced during the construction, alteration, repair, or demolition of any structure.
The amount or concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) within a greenhouse gas related to its projected impact on global warming.
The tracking of waste, from the moment it enters a site to the eventual treatment or disposal of that material.
Material from businesses and households that cannot be recycled.
A moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others.
A system of relationships between animals and plants and their environment.
Any end-of-life item that has an electrical plug or electronic battery.
Measures that extend a person’s financial or physical responsibility for a product to the post-consumer stage of the product.
Food intended for consumption that is lost or discarded along the food supply chain.
Waste that does not pose an immediate hazard or threat to health or to the environment.
The generation of greenhouse gas - a gaseous compound capable of absorbing infrared radiation and on setting global warming.
Gaseous, liquid or solid waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment.
The destruction of waste material through burning.
Waste that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformation after disposal, nor impact negatively on the environment.
Non-biodegradable, chemical waste, of mineral origin. Example: aluminum cans.
A combination of waste management approaches, including: source reduction, composting, incineration, recycling, and landfills.
The evaluation of a product or service’s potential environmental impact over its entire life cycle.
Any waste consisting wholly or partly of human or animal tissue, blood,other body fluids, excretions, drugs, or other pharmaceutical products, swabs,dressings,syringes, needles or other sharp instruments.
Any combination of waste types with different properties, ranging from biodegradable to inorganic waste.
A waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public.
Biodegradable waste that comes from either a plant or an animal. Example: Food waste.
The collection and reuse of disposed materials.
A process where waste is reclaimed for further use, and processed as a product or raw material.
Energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as wind, hydro, or solar power.
To re-utilise articles from the waste stream for a similar or new purpose, without changing their form or properties.
Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources, in order to maintain ecological balance.
Any method, technique, or process, which is designed to change the physical, biological, or chemical character or composition of a waste.
An entity, by site, whose acts or processes generate solid waste.
The prioritisation of waste management options (in descending order) throughout its lifecycle.
The activities and actions required to manage waste, from its inception to its final disposal.
To make every means possible to avoid and/or reduce the amount of waste and toxicity generated.
Using less material and energy to minimise waste generation, and preserve natural resources.
Generating fuel or energy in the form of electricity and/or heat, from waste.
Any site used to accumulate waste for the purpose of storage, recovery, treatment, reprocessing, recycling, or sorting of that waste.
Waste management and planning approaches that emphasise waste prevention, as opposed to end-of-pipe waste management disposed in landfills.
To be kept up to date with waste management news, sign up to our monthly updates.