WASTE GLOSSARY


Commercial and industrial waste

Waste that is produced by institutions and businesses; includes waste from schools, restaurants, offices, retail and wholesale businesses, and industries including manufacturing. Wastes from this source contain relatively higher proportions of metals, plastics and timber which can make waste a valuable source of recyclable product.

Construction and demolition waste

Waste that is produced by demolition and building activities, including road and rail construction and maintenance and excavation of land associated with construction activities. The waste stream usually covers only some of the generation, disposal and recycling of construction and demolition wastes, as these materials can also be found in commercial and industrial, and municipal solid waste streams, or as hazardous waste. It includes mostly inert materials such as timber, bricks, plaster off cuts, concrete, rubble, steel and excavated earth.

Diversion

The act of diverting a waste away from landfill for another purpose such as re-use or recycling.

Landfill

Land where waste is dumped and later buried. Also referred to as rubbish tip or dump.

Leachate

Liquid that has percolated through solid waste or other solids and has extracted materials from it by leaching.

Mt CO₂-e

Millions of tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e) gases.

Municipal solid waste

Municipal solid waste is waste produced primarily by households and council facilities, including biodegradable material, recyclable materials such as bottles, paper, cardboard and aluminium cans, and a wide range of non-degradable material including paint, appliances, old furniture and household lighting.

Recycling

A resource recovery method involving the collection and processing of waste for use as a raw material in the manufacture of the same or similar non-waste products.

Reuse

Recovering value from a discarded item without reprocessing or re-manufacture. Typically this will involve an item being reused in its original function or similar. It does not preclude relatively minor pre-treatments like washing, reconditioning or painting.

Waste

Waste is generally defined as any product or substance that has no further use for the person or organisation that generated it, and which is, or will be, discarded. Wastes may be solid, liquid or gaseous and can be hazardous or non-hazardous.