Waste types
Encyclopedia
Waste comes in many different forms:
- Solid Wastes
- Gaseous Wastes
- Animal by-products
- Biodegradable wasteBiodegradable wasteBiodegradable waste is a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which may be degraded by other living organisms. Waste that cannot be broken down by other living organisms are called non-biodegradable....
- Biomedical wasteBiomedical wasteBiomedical waste, , consists of solids, liquids, sharps, and laboratory waste that are potentially infectious or dangerous and are considered biowaste...
- Bulky wasteBulky wasteBulky waste or bulky refuse is a technical term taken from waste management to describe waste types that are too large to be accepted by the regular waste collection. It is usually picked up regularly in many countries from the streets or pavements of the area...
- Business wasteBusiness wasteBusiness waste – cover the commercial waste and industrial waste types . Generally, businesses are expected to make their own arrangements for the collection, treatment and disposal of their wastes...
- Chemical wasteChemical wasteChemical waste is a waste that is made from harmful chemicals . Chemical waste may fall under regulations such as COSHH in the United Kingdom, or the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in the United States...
- Clinical waste
- Coffee wastewaterCoffee wastewaterThe unpicked fruit of the coffee tree, known as the coffee cherry, must undergo a long process to make it ready for consumption. This process often entails the usage of massive amounts of water and the production of considerable amounts of both solid and liquid waste. To determine the type of waste...
- Commercial wasteCommercial wasteCommercial waste consists of waste from premises used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade or business or for the purpose of sport, recreation, education or entertainment but not including household; agricultural or industrial waste .-See also:...
- Construction and demolition wasteConstruction and demolition wasteConstruction waste consists of unwanted material produced directly or incidentally by the construction or industries. This includes building materials such as insulation, nails, electrical wiring, and rebar, as well as waste originating from site preparation such as dredging materials, tree stumps,...
(C&D waste) - Controlled wasteControlled wasteControlled waste a waste type composed of either domestic, commercial and/or industrial waste. They are regulated by governmental institutions or acts, because of their toxicity or imminent hazardous nature, either in themselves, obtained during biodegradation or biochemical degradation.-See...
- Consumable waste
- Composite waste
- Demolition wasteDemolition wasteDemolition waste is waste debris from destruction of a building. The debris varies from insulation, electrical wiring, rebar, wood, concrete, and bricks. It also may contain lead, asbestos or different hazardous materials....
- Domestic waste
- Electronic wasteElectronic wasteElectronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its...
(E-waste) - Food wasteFood wasteFood waste or food loss is food that is discarded or lost uneaten. As of 2011, 1.3 billion tons of food, about one third of the global food production, are lost or wasted annually. Loss and wastage occurs on all steps in the food supply chain...
- Green wasteGreen wasteGreen waste is biodegradable waste that can be composed of garden or park waste, such as grass or flower cuttings and hedge trimmings, as well as domestic and commercial food waste...
- Grey water
- Hazardous wasteHazardous wasteA hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
- Mineral waste
- Household waste
- Household hazardous wasteHousehold Hazardous WasteHousehold hazardous waste , sometimes called retail hazardous waste, is post-consumer waste which qualifies as hazardous waste when discarded. It includes household chemicals and other substances for which the owner no longer has a use, such as consumer products sold for home care, personal care,...
- Household hazardous waste
- Human wasteHuman wasteHuman waste is a waste type usually used to refer to byproducts of digestion, such as feces and urine. Human waste is most often transported as sewage in waste water through sewerage systems...
- sewage sludge
- Industrial wasteIndustrial wasteIndustrial waste is a type of waste produced by industrial activity, such as that of factories, mills and mines. It has existed since the outset of the industrial revolution....
- slagSlagSlag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...
- fly ashFly ashFly ash is one of the residues generated in combustion, and comprises the fine particles that rise with the flue gases. Ash which does not rise is termed bottom ash. In an industrial context, fly ash usually refers to ash produced during combustion of coal...
- sludgeSludgeSludge refers to the residual, semi-solid material left from industrial wastewater, or sewage treatment processes. It can also refer to the settled suspension obtained from conventional drinking water treatment, and numerous other industrial processes...
- slag
- Inert wasteInert wasteInert waste is waste which is neither chemically or biologically reactive and will not decompose. Examples of this are sand, drywall, and concrete. This has particular relevance to landfills as inert waste typically requires lower disposal fees than biodegradable waste or hazardous waste....
- Kitchen waste
- LitterLitterLitter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
- Liquid waste
- Medical wasteMedical wasteMedical waste, also known as clinical waste, normally refers to waste products that cannot be considered general waste, produced from healthcare premises, such as hospitals, clinics, doctors offices, veterinary hospitals and labs.-Europe:...
- Mixed wasteMixed wasteMixed waste can refer to any combination of waste types with different properties.Typically commercial and municipal wastes are mixtures of plastics, metals, glass, biodegradable waste including paper and textiles along with other nondescript junk....
- Municipal solid wasteMunicipal solid wasteMunicipal solid waste , commonly known as trash or garbage , refuse or rubbish is a waste type consisting of everyday items we consume and discard. It predominantly includes food wastes, yard wastes, containers and product packaging, and other miscellaneous inorganic wastes from residential,...
- Packaging waste
- Post-consumer wastePost-consumer wastePost-consumer waste is a waste type produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste-producing use did not involve the production of another product....
- Radioactive wasteRadioactive wasteRadioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
(nuclear waste)- Low level wasteLow level wasteLow-Level Waste is a term used to describe nuclear waste that does not fit into the categorical definitions for high-level waste , spent nuclear fuel , transuranic waste , or certain byproduct materials known as 11e wastes, such as uranium mill tailings...
- High level wasteHigh level wasteHigh level waste is a type of nuclear waste created by the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. It exists in two main forms:* First and second cycle raffinate and other waste streams created by nuclear reprocessing....
- Spent nuclear fuelSpent nuclear fuelSpent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor...
- Mixed waste (radioactive/hazardous)Mixed waste (radioactive/hazardous)According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, mixed waste is a waste type defined as follows; "MW contains both hazardous waste and radioactive waste . It is jointly regulated by NRC or NRC's Agreement States and EPA or EPA's RCRA Authorized States...
- Low level waste
- Recyclable waste
- Residual waste
- Retail hazardous waste
- SewageSewageSewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
- Sharps wasteSharps wasteSharps waste is a form of medical waste composed of used sharps, which includes any device or object used to puncture or lacerate the skin. Sharps waste is classified as biohazardous waste and must be carefully handled...
- Slaughterhouse wasteSlaughterhouse wasteSlaughterhouse waste is a biodegradable waste with the following definition:Animal body parts cut off in the preparation of carcasses for use as food...
- Special waste - see hazardous wasteHazardous wasteA hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
- Toxic wasteToxic wasteToxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
- Uncontrolled wasteUncontrolled wasteUncontrolled wastes is a group of waste types that do not fall into the, controlled, special or hazardous waste categories, for example - specific mining wastes and agricultural wastes....
- Waste heatWaste heatWaste heat sometimes called Secondary heat or Low-grade heat refers to heat produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes for which no useful application is found. Energy is often produced by a heat engine, running on a source of high-temperature heat...
- WastewaterWastewaterWastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...
- Winery wastewater
See also
- List of waste management companies
- List of waste management topics
- List of solid waste treatment technologies
- List of Superfund sites in the United States
- List of topics dealing with environmental issues
- PollutionPollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
- Waste managementWaste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...