waste

Also known as rubbish, trash, garbage, refuse, wastes

thumb|alt=Bucket loader dumping a load of waste at a waste depot|Solid waste after being shredded to a uniform size

AI overview

Waste refers to unwanted materials or byproducts that result from human activities, such as the solid refuse shown being processed at disposal facilities. It matters because managing waste properly affects environmental health, public sanitation, and resource conservation.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of: energy source
Image: Waste in Sierra Leone.jpg
Has use: recycling

Show 11 more facts

Commons category: Waste
topic's main category: Category:Waste
topic has template: Template:Waste
described by source: Pax Leksikon
studied by: garbology
has effect: marine debris
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
hashtag: garbage
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00002264
handled, mitigated, or managed by: waste management
different from: scrap

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

39 sections

Contents

Definitions
United Nations Environment Program
United Nations Statistics Division
European Union
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
Types of waste
Metabolic waste
Municipal waste
Household waste and commercial waste
Gallery
Construction and demolition waste
Hazardous waste
Radioactive waste
Energetic hazardous waste
Munitions
Fireworks, flares, and hobby rockets
Automobile airbag propellants
Electronic waste
Mixed waste
Medical Waste
Reporting
Costs
Environmental costs
Social costs
Economic costs
Affecting communities
Management
Wastewater facilities
Benefits
Utilization
Resource recovery
Energy recovery
Education and awareness
Gallery
See also
References
External links

thumb|alt=Bucket loader dumping a load of waste at a waste depot|Solid waste after being shredded to a uniform size

Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “waste” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.