Words of waste (glossary)

Words of Waste Glossary

A

Aerobic - In the presence of, or requiring,
oxygen.

Aerobic composting - Microbial decomposition of
organic material in the presence of air (oxygen) and
water.

Anaerobic composting - Decomposition which occurs
in the absence of air (oxygen).

Audit - See (Waste
audit)

Avoid - Not producing / purchasing materials which will become waste. See also (Waste avoidance).

B

BiobiN / biobin - A skip-like collection bin with a
biofilter which is used for the temporary storage and collection of organic
waste.

Biodegradable - Able to degrade (decay or rot)
naturally through the action of living organisms such as bacteria and
fungi.

Biogas - Gases (methane and carbon dioxide)
resulting from the decomposition of organic waste in the absence of
air.

Biosolids - Primarily organic human waste after
treatment at a sewage / waste water treatment plant.

Bokashi - A Japanese fermentation method of composting that
'pickles' materials. Particularly popular for school and home composting as it
can accept meat, dairy, bones and seafood.

C

Castings - Also known as vermicast. Commonly
referred as worm poo and are the organic substance which is the end result of
organic matter ingested by a worm. Castings contain nutrients that aid plant
growth.

Cleaner production - An approach to business
management that reduces the use of energy, water, and mineral resources and
minimises waste and pollution.

Closed-loop recycling
-

The collection of materials and their transformation into the original type
of product, eg glass bottles and jars that are collected and recycled into new
glass containers.

When materials from a product are reprocessed to make the same product
again. It is the best type of recycling because it doesn't need as many new raw
materials.

A product is supplied with the intention of capturing it after use,
recycling and remanufacturing it into a new product. Closed-loop recycling is
based on the concept of controlling inputs to tailor the waste stream,
maximising recycling and minimising the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Fundamental to its success is the use of only recyclable or biodegradable
products.

Co-mingled recycling - A collection system for
recyclable materials (ie plastic, paper, metal) where these materials are
collected together and transported to a Materials Recovery
Facility.

Commercial waste - Waste material generated by
commercial premises eg offices, shops, markets, hotels,
warehouses.

C & I waste -

Waste resulting from Commercial and Industrial activities.

Inert, solid, or industrial waste generated by business and industries
(including shopping centres, restaurants and offices) and institutions (such as
schools, hospitals, universities, nursing homes and government offices),
excluding construction and demolition waste and municipal waste.

Compost - An organic material that is the product of an
aerobic composting process. It can be used as a soil conditioner or mulch to
improve soil structure, provide nutrients for plant growth and increase water
and nutrient retention, aeration, and erosion
control.

Compostable - Organic material that is suitable
for composting.

Composting - A biological process in
which micro-organisms convert organic matter such as plant and animal scraps
into soil-like material called compost.

Conserve -
Protect natural resources from waste, loss or
damage.

Conservation - Planned management of a natural
resource (animal, vegetable or mineral) to prevent its exploitation (overuse),
neglect or destruction (loss).

C & D waste - Waste
resulting from construction, refurbishment, demolition and excavation
activities.

Consume - To use up
resources.

Container Deposit Legislation (CDL) - A
generic term for the container deposit requirements under the SA Environment
Protection Act 1993.

Contaminants -

Foreign material in a recycling stream that makes it more difficult to
recycle, or that reduces the usefulness of the final product.

Micro-organisms, chemicals, wastes or waste water introduced into the
environment or a product (water, soil or recyclable materials) that make the
environment or product unfit for its intended use. Contaminants can have a
detrimental impact on the quality of recycled materials and can spoil the
potential for recovery.

Cradle-to-grave - See 'Life cycle analysis /
assessment'.

D

Decompose - Decay or rot.

Decomposer
- Any small animal, insect or micro-organism that causes organic
material to undergo chemical breakdown.

Decomposition -
The process of breakdown of organic materials by micro-organisms or other
decomposers.

Deposit-refund systems - Involve the
payment of a deposit by the consumer when the product is purchased. The refund
of the deposit acts as an incentive for the consumer to return the used product
to the producer or agent. Producers are then responsible for ensuring that the
product is recycled or, depending on the product, disposed of
safely.

Design for Recycling - Products designed for
recycling by disassembly at the end of the product's useful life to ensure
effective separation of all component parts for subsequent reuse and recycling.
Consumer products such as cars and appliances can be designed for disassembly
for recycling. Designers and manufacturers of consumer products are becoming
increasingly subject to legislative and other pressures requiring them to
consider the End of Life (EoL) implications of their products. Manufacturers are
required to build strategies for disassembly into the design of their products.
Active Disassembly (AD) or Active Disassembly using Smart Materials’ (ADSM) is a
developing technology related to the DfR concept.

Dioxin
- Chemical compound resulting from the combustion of organic matter. 210 types
of dioxin exist, 17 of which are considered to be harmful. A persistent organic
pollutant that bioaccumulates up the food chain.

Disposal
-

Least preferred waste management option, used after all other
environmentally acceptable avenues have been exhausted and includes landfill and
incineration.

The controlled release into the environment of liquid, solid or gaseous
wastes, and the residues of waste management processes.

Domestic waste (DW) - Solid waste (garbage / rubbish)
originating from households or apartments.

E

Ecology - The scientific study of the relations of
organisms to one another and to their
surroundings.

Eco-efficiency -

The concept of using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution
while creating more goods and services.

A practical and systematic approach aiming to 'do more with less' that
focuses on innovation, quality and value, while reducing resource use, waste and
pollution.

Ecological footprint /Eco-foorprint - A resource
accounting tool that measures our ecological demand and enables us to compare
this with nature's supply. The ecological footprint measures how much
biologically productive land and water area a given population (an individual,
an organisation, a city, a region, a country, or humanity) requires to produce
all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates, using
prevailing technology. Land area is used as a common unit of measurement to
allow comparisons across time and different populations. The Ecological
Footprint is measured in global hectares. The Footprint is also an effective way
of communicating the concept of ecological limits: do our activites 'fit' on the
one planet we have? What if everyone did it?

Ecologically
SustainableDevelopment (ESD) - Development that aims to meet the needs
of the present generation while conserving our ecosystems for the benefit of
future generations of all species.

Ecosystem - A
community of different species interacting with one another and with their
environment.

Embedded energy / 'Embodied' energy - The
energy that is part of the life of every product, from mining to manufacture to
disposal, and includes the transportation involved at every
stage.

Emissions - Energy in the form of heat, light,
odour, noise etc emitted from a point or place.

Energy-from-waste
(EfW) -

Recovery of calories contained in incinerated waste, allowing thermal or
electrical energy to be generated.

EfW technologies can convert materials such as compostable organics, tyres,
plastics, clinical and related wastes into heat and electricity using a number
of processes including:
- Combustion - the burning of biomass, such as the use of bagasse by the sugar
  industry to produce heat and electricity using steam turbine generators.
- Gasification - the efficient conversion of solid fuel to gaseous fuel as was
  used to produce 'town gas' from coal before the advent of natural gas.
- Pyrolysis - the production of carbon-rich solid fuel and a hydrocarbon-rich
  gas by heating a biomass feedstock in the absence of oxygen, such as used to
  produce charcoal from wood.

Energy recovery - The generation of energy using items /
materials that are currently sent to landfill.

Environment
- The conditions that affect how people and nature live. All the
conditions, factors or influences surrounding and affecting the life and
development and behaviour of organisms.

EPA -
Environment Protection Authority

Environment Protection
- A council of state and Commonwealth ministers of Australia, NZ and Papua New
Guinea appointed by the first ministers from participating jurisdictions, and a
representative of the Australian Local Government
Association.

E-waste - Electronic products eg PCs,
monitors, TVs, VCR / DVDs, microwaves, telephones.

Extended
producer responsibility - Shared responsibility for the lifecycle of
products including the environmental impact of the product from extraction of
virgin materials through to manufacturing and consumption, and including
ultimate disposal and post-disposal consequences.

F

Fly Ash - Residues from commercial incineration. See
Incinerator.

G

Garbage - See 'Waste'

Garbage
dump - Land where waste is dumped and later buried. See also Landfill
and Rubbish tip.

Global warming - The gradual warming of
the surface of the Earth as a result of a change in the composition of the
atmospheric gases, in particular an increase in the levels of carbon dioxide and
methane in the atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide and methane absorb heat, hence the
term 'Global Warming'.

Green organics / waste - Organic
waste from parks and gardens including grass, leaves, mulch, plants, branches
and twigs, tree trunks, stumps and roots.

Greenhouse effect
- A natural system of trapping the Earth's heat. Solar rays, which
penetrate the atmosphere to reach the Earth's surface, are then partly
re-radiated by this surface. Certain gases present in the atmosphere absorb
these ascending rays and retain the heat in the atmosphere. Human activity
contributes to the increase in content of these gases (carbon dioxide [CO2],
methane [CH4] and chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs]) in the atmosphere, which in turn,
raises the Earth's temperature.
See also 'Global
Warming'.

Greenhouse gases - Atmospheric gases which
enhance the natural greenhouse effect including carbon dioxide [CO2], methane
[CH4], chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs], ozone and water
vapour.

Greening of Government Operations (GoGO)- The
South Australian Government's commitment to strive for best practice in managing
the environmental impacts of its own operations.

Greening the
Supply Chain - A way of reducing the effects of business activities on
the environment and bringing benefits to both customers and suppliers (SA EPA
program).

Geographic information system - A system for
capturing and manipulating data relating to the Earth, commonly used to overlay
several types of maps (eg roads, elevation data, landfill locations) to
determine useful data about a given geographical
area.

Groundwater -

Water that is found beneath the surface of the Earth.

Water that occurs in an aquifer; a saturated subsurface geological formation
of rock and soil.

H

Hazardous waste / material -

Waste that contains chemicals or other compounds that may be harmful to
humans or other organisms in the environment and requires particular precautions
when treated (eg batteries, aerosols, paints).

Any waste containing significant quantities of a substance that may
constitute a danger to the life or health of living organisms and the
environment, or poses a threat to the safety of humans or equipment if
incorrectly handled. Hazardous waste properties include toxicity, flammability,
chemical reactivity, corrosivity and infectiousness.

Household Waste - See 'Domestic Waste'.

I

Incinerator - A facility designed to incinerate
(burn) waste without energy recovery to either reduce the volume of waste and /
or destroy its infectious properties. More and more incinerators now recover
waste in the form of electricity or thermal energy. The by-products of
incineration (bottom ash and fly ash) are processed with a view to controlling
the impacts of this activity both on humans and on the
environment.

Industrial waste - Any waste generated by
industrial or manufacturing processes.

Inert waste
-

Waste which is unlikely to evolve physically or chemically (ie non-toxic,
non-biodegradable, very low solubility in water, non-oxidisable), eg, backfill,
rubble.

Waste of a type that is the least likely to undergo ‘environmentally
significant transformations’ and therefore should not release significant
quantities of greenhouse gases or leachates contaminated with nutrients and / or
chemicals.

Inputs - Materials used in the construction and
production of the things we use and includes natural resources and
transportation systems to move materials.

Integrated waste
management - The complementary use of a variety of waste management
practices to handle municipal solid waste safely and effectively. Techniques
might include source reduction, reuse, recycling and disposal.

K

Kerbside - Term used in reference to municipal solid
waste collected at kerbside by or for councils.

Kerbside
recycling - A formalised kerbside collection system for recyclables
from households where the householder segregates waste according to material
type and places it in containers on the kerbside for separate collection. The
system is usually administered by local government authorities.

L

Landfill site -

A waste disposal site used for the controlled deposit of solid waste onto or
into land (ie dumping and burying).

An engineered ground facility for the burial or disposal of solid,
non-hazardous wastes under controlled disposal conditions which eliminates
releases to the atmosphere, groundwater or neighbouring land.

Landfill airspace - The (remaining) capacity of a
landfill site for waste disposal.

Landfill gas - See
'Biogas'

Leachate -

Water containing organic or mineral pollutants following contact with
landfill (or composted) waste.

Liquid released by, or water that has percolated through, organic or other
wastes and that contains dissolved and / or suspended liquids, solids or
gases.

Life cycle analysis / assessment (LCA) -

The analysis of the potential environmental impacts resulting from the
inputs and outputs of a product throughout its life cycle, ie from 'cradle to
grave'.

An environmental management technique for assessing the environmental
aspects and potential impacts throughout the life cycle of a product, process or
service 'from cradle to grave'.

See also 'Life cycle environmental impacts'.

Lifecycle
environmental impacts - The environmental impacts associated with a
product, process or activity, including energy and materials used and wastes
released to the environment. See also 'Life cycle
analysis'.

Liquid Paper Board / Liquidpaperboard -
Material used for cartons to contain liquids (eg milk, flavoured milk and fruit
juices).

Litter - Waste item (often food and drink
packaging) that has been discarded or dropped.

Littering
- Deliberate or accidental disposal of litter.

M

Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) - Facility at
which kerbside-collected waste is sorted for recycling and reuse, and residual
materials prepared for disposal or further processing (eg waste to
energy).

Materials recovery - Waste processing
technique, allowing re-employment, reuse and recycling (eg waste resulting from
selective collection which is recycled, bottom ash recovered for use in roadway
capping layers).

Methane -

A gas that is formed by the decomposition of wastes without the presence of
oxygen ie in landfill.

A non-toxic, highly flammable gas which is formed during anaerobic
decomposition. It is a significant greenhouse gas.

Medical waste - Waste resulting from medical activity,
including hospital waste.

Micro-organisms - Bacteria,
fungi, unicellular plants and other small organisms not visible to the naked
eye.

Mixed waste collection ans processing - A system
involving minimal or no separation of green waste from contaminants. The waste
is composted and contaminants are screened out at the end of the composting
process.

Mobile garbage bin (MGB) - A wheeled kerbside
container for the collection of waste or other materials. Also referred to as a
'wheelie bin'.

Mulch - Organic material, such as
shredded or chipped wood waste, straw, peat moss and leaves, that is spread over
soil to reduce evaporation, maintain an even soil temperature, prevent soil
erosion, reduce weed germination and enrich the soil.

Municipal
solid waste -

Typically waste originating from households or apartments which is collected
at kerbside by or for councils.

The solid component of the waste stream arising from the household waste
placed at the kerbside for council collection and waste collected by council
from municipal parks and gardens, street sweepings, council engineering works
and public council bins. Excludes hazardous, clinical and related
wastes.

N

National Packaging Council - A national association
of raw material suppliers, packaging users, packaging manufacturers, retailers
and packaging designers / consultants.

National Packaging
Covenant - A self-regulatory agreement between industries in the
packaging chain and all spheres of government launched in August 1999. The aim
is to provide more effective management of used packaging based on the
principles of shared responsibility and product stewardship and applies
throughout the packaging chain, from raw material suppliers to retailers, and
the ultimate disposal of waste packaging. It is supported by legislative
arrangements under the National Environment Protection (Used Packaging
Materials) Measure to ensure that those parties who decide against becoming
signatories to the Covenant do not gain a competitive advantage as a
result.

Natural resources -

Naturally occurring material such as air, soil, timber, oil, minerals, and
other goods taken more or less as they are from the Earth. They are considered
to be valuable to humans, plants and animals.

Naturally occurring resources that are considered valuable in their
relatively unmodified (natural) form. A commodity is generally considered a
natural resource when the primary activities associated with it are extraction
and purification, as opposed to creation. Agricultural products are not
considered to be natural resources.

Non-hazardous industrial waste (NHIW) - Waste resulting
from an industrial or commercial activity but which is comparable to domestic
waste and non-hazardous domestic waste eg cardboard, wood, packaging material,
etc.

Non-renewable resource - Resources such as coal or
oil that cannot be replaced.

O

Open-loop recycling - When the materials from one
type of product are used / reprocessed to make a different product eg recycling
plastic bottles into plastic drainage pipe. Also referred to as 'reprocessing'
or 'down-cycling'.

Organic material / matter
-

Plant or animal matter (eg grass clippings, tree prunings, food waste).

Chemical substances of animal or vegetable origin, consisting of
hydrocarbons and their derivatives.

Organic waste - Generally refers to biodegradable,
compostable wastes of plant or animal origin from domestic or industrial
sources, such as food scraps, grass clippings, garden wastes, but excludes other
organic wastes such as plastics, timber, rubber and oils.

Outputs
- Materials used in the production and construction of things we use
and includes landfill sites and the transportation systems required to move
waste to them.

P

Packaging - Materials used to preserve, protect,
store or transport a product.

Pathogen - A living
organism that can be harmful to humans, animals, plants and other living
organisms.

Plastics - Plastics are polymers: long chains
of atoms bonded to one another. These chains are made up of many repeating
molecular units, or 'monomers'. The vast majority of plastics are composed of
polymers of carbon alone or with oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine or sulphur in the
backbone. Plastic can be classified in many ways but most commonly by the
polymer backbone (polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, acrylic, silicone, urethane,
etc).

Plastics are identified using a code to assist
recycling
PETE / PET - Polyethylene
terephthalate
HDPE - High density
polyethylene
UPVC - Unplasticised polyvinyl
chloride
PPVC - Plasticised polyvinyl
chloride
LDPE - Low density
polyethylene
PP - Polypropylene
PS -
Polystyrene
EPS - Expanded
polystyrene
OTHER

Pollution -

The potentially harmful contamination of air, water, soil or food. This may
affect the health of humans and other organisms.

A situation that exists when the waste loads on water, air or the land
overwhelms the natural process of assimilation of such waste
materials.

Post-consumer waste - Material that has been recovered
and recycled at the end of its life as a consumer item, and which would
otherwise have been disposed of as solid waste; it does not include the reuse of
manufacturing wastes. It is generally any product that was bought by the
consumer, used and then recycled into another
product.

Pre-consumer waste - Waste created during the
manufacturing process eg paperboard trimmed when making
cartons.

Prevention - Eliminating the generation of
waste at its source. Avoidance encourages the community to reduce the amount of
waste it generates and to be more efficient in the use of raw
materials.

Processing - Subjecting a substance to a
physical, chemical or biological treatment or a combination of treatments.
Composting is a form of processing.

Product stewardship
- See 'Extended producer responsibility'

Putrescible
waste - Waste that will easily decompose / breakdown producing gases
and leachates. This type of waste usually has a high moisture content and
includes food and animal products.

R

Recover / Recovery -

Generic term encompassing the re-employment, reuse, recycling or
regeneration of waste.

Capturing otherwise wasted resources (eg recovering and using heat from
electricity generation processes).

Recyclables -

Items that can be placed in a collection for recycling.

A material or item that, depending on individual circumstances, can be
reprocessed to provide raw material for either the same or another
product.

Recycle / Recycling -

To remanufacture used materials into new products / resources.

A resource recovery method involving the collection and processing of waste
materials for use as a raw material (input) in the manufacture of the same or
another product.

Reduce -

Producing or purchasing fewer materials which will become waste.

Modifying purchasing practices to ensure less waste to landfill.

Regeneration - Physical or chemical procedure which
provides waste with the necessary characteristics needed to allow it to be used
as a replacement for a new raw material (eg recycled paper re-generated by
de-inking).

Renewable resource - A resource that can be
replenished or regrown within a reasonable time frame (eg trees, wind or solar
energy).

Reprocess - To convert waste into a different
but similar non-waste product (eg to produce cardboard from paper). Also
referred to as 'open-loop recycling'.

Residual waste -
Waste which is no longer likely to be processed in the current technical and
economic conditions. The recoverable fraction has either already been extracted
or the waste's pollutant or hazardous nature has been reduced. Often, but not
necessarily, 'waste resulting from waste'.

Resource
recovery -

To direct products and materials from the waste stream for reuse, recycling,
energy generation or composting.

The extraction of economically useable materials or energy from waste
materials. This may involve recycling or conversion into different unrelated
products or uses.

Reuse -

Using materials more than once before recycling or disposing of them.

Recovering value from a discarded resource without reprocessing or
remanufacture (eg refillable drink bottles, clothing).

Reusing a product in its same state with minimal processing.

Using a product or packaging again, for either the same or a similar purpose
(eg returnable bottles) or for a different purpose from that for which the
material was originally intended (eg using tyres to protect the hull of
trawlers). It entails less intensive processing than recycling.

Rubbish dump / tip - Land where waste is dumped and
later buried. See also 'Landfill' and 'Garbage dump'.

S

Selective collection - Any collection which
separates certain types of waste (eg paper, packaging, glass, etc) with a view
to recovering them.

Soil conditioner - Any material
added to soil in order to enhance its physical or chemical properties or
biological activity.

Solid waste - Non liquid waste from
households and businesses mostly comprised of paper, food scraps, containers and
garden (green) waste.

Sorting centre - Also referred to
as a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

Sorting at source level /
Source separation / Source segragation -

Separation of waste per type of material where it is generated (eg residents
sorting their waste into waste / rubbish and recyclables at their homes before
it is collected for transport).

The separation of used materials from the waste stream into specific
categories at the point of generation in order to facilitate reuse, recycling or
processing. It results in lower amounts of contamination, and consequently
better products and fewer residual wastes.

Sustainable development -

Using our natural resources in ways that do not threaten their long-term
survival or the survival of plants and animals (including humans) that depend
upon them.

Development that meets the needs of the present generation without
compromising the needs of future generations.

T

10c containers - Any containers with a 5c deposit for
return in SA under Container Deposit Legislation.

Transfer station / Council facility -

A secure, fenced area where local residents can dispose of and sort their
recoverable, hazardous or bulky waste. Often confused with a landfill.

A waste handling facility used to transfer waste from collection vehicles to
a bulk-haul vehicle in order to achieve long-distance transportation efficiency.
It may also be used to sort and redirect waste with the potential to recycle
prior to disposal.

U

Uncontrolled dump site - A landfill that receives
all types of waste in conditions which do not respect the rules in force for
controlled landfills.

V

Vermiculture -

The cultivation of worms to break down organic materials / waste. The
resulting product is worm castings and liquid which is high in nutrients.

Any organic material which has been subject to worm activity under aerobic
conditions. Vermicompost consists of a mixture of decomposed organic material,
worm excreta, and small worms.

Virgin materials - Any basic materials for industrial
processing that have not previously been used, eg petroleum for plastics
manufacture, iron ore for steel manufacture, wood pulp for paper manufacture, or
bauxite ore for aluminium manufacture.

Void space - The
space that still remains to be filled by waste in a landfill.

W

Waste -

Left over or unwanted materials for disposal.

Any discarded, unwanted material deposited into the environment. It has the
capacity to cause environmental degradation.

Materials and energy which have become by-products of various human
activities and for which we have no further use; may be discharged to air or
water or deposited onto land.

Any discarded, rejected, abandoned or surplus matter, whether or not
intended for sale or recycling, reprocessing, recovery or purification by a
separate operation from that which produced the matter, or anything declared by
regulation or by an environment protection policy to be waste, whether of value
or not. (Zero Waste SA Act 2004 and Environment Protection Act 1993).

Waste audit -

The physical sorting and separation of waste into individual components for
the purpose of quantifying individual fractions.

Analysis of total waste produced by an activity or process to determine the
quantity and composition of that waste.

Waste avoidance -

Not creating waste in the first place.

Eliminating or reducing the amount of waste generated at its source and
using raw materials more efficiently.

Waste census - A desk-top audit to determine recycling
and waste to landfill practices and an estimate of quantities and
volumes.

Waste facility / depot - Any premises used for
the storage, treatment, reprocessing, sorting or disposal of
waste.

Waste fill - Waste consisting of clay, concrete,
rock, sand, soil or other inert mineralogical matter in pieces not exceeding 100
mm in length and containing chemical substances in concentrations (calculated in
a manner determined by the Authority) less than the concentrations for those
substances set out in Schedule 6, but does not include waste consisting of or
containing asbestos or bitumen. (Environment Protection [Fees and Levy]
Regulations 1994 under the Environment Protection Act
1993).

Waste hierarchy /Waste management heirachy
-

A model that ranks strategies for dealing with waste according to how
successfully they conserve resources.

A nationally and internationally accepted guide that ranks waste management
practices against the objective of achieving an optimal environmental outcome.
It sets out the order of waste management practices from the most preferred to
the least preferred. Waste avoidance and reduction are the optimal environmental
approach. To the extent that this cannot be achieved, reuse, recycling and
recovery of waste are preferred. Treatment and disposal are the least preferred
practices for waste reduction.

Waste management - The administration and organisation
of waste generation, collection, treatment and disposal
practices.

Waste minimisation -

Any technique, process or activity which avoids, eliminates or reduces a
waste at source, or allows for the reuse or recycling of wastes.

Application of activities such as waste avoidance, reduction, reuse and
recycling, and behaviour modification to minimise the amount of waste that
requires disposal.

Waste prevention - The total concept of waste avoidance
together with waste reduction.

Waste stream
-

A general term used to describe the total waste material generated by an
area, location or facility.

The flow of materials from a point of generation to ultimate disposal.
(Components may be diverted from this stream for resource recovery).

Waste reduction -

Reducing the amount of waste at its source.

Reducing the amount of waste we produce including changes to a product or
process to minimise the waste it produces.

The second option in the waste hierarchy after avoidance; it requires
limiting the generation of waste through product design, material selection,
policy and management.

Waste water - Liquid waste which is mainly water and
generally contains material that floats, settles out or is
suspended.

Whole school community - All members of a
school community including students, teachers, parents, principal, non-teaching
staff, school council / governing body.