Waste

Waste and wastes are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or it is worthless, defective and of no use.

The term is often subjective (because waste to one person is not necessarily waste to another) and sometimes objectively inaccurate (for example, to send scrap metals to a landfill is to inaccurately classify them as waste, because they are recyclable). Examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and others.

Definitions

United Nations Environment Program

According to the Basel Convention,

United Nations Statistics Division, Glossary of Environment Statistics

European Union

Under the Waste Framework Directive, the European Union defines waste as "an object the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard."

Types

There are many waste types defined by modern systems of waste management, notably including:

Latest News for: Waste plastic recycle

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UK government's plan for a 'National Bin Service' with SIX types of collection is unworkable ...

The Daily Mail 20 Mar 2023
They are expected to make all councils collect food and garden waste, as well as metal, plastic, paper and cardboard ... Of 30 billion plastic bottles used by UK households each year, only 57 per cent are currently recycled, with half going to landfill, half go to waste ... This is largely due to plastic wrapping around bottles that are non-recyclable....
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We’re shipping twice as much plastic to developing nations than accounted for

Popular Science 20 Mar 2023
High-income countries have long sent their waste abroad to be thrown away or recycled — and an independent team of experts says they’re inundating the developing world with much more plastic than previously estimated ... Plastic contamination in paper bales — the huge stacks of ......
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Closed-loop recycling of textile wastes

Phys Dot Org 20 Mar 2023
Among these forms of waste, synthetic fiber has become a major threat to the environment and human health because, similar to other plastics, it is not biodegradable ... Sorting it into homogeneous materials is necessary to make the waste recyclable by a chemical or mechanical method....
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Government to widen plastic ban, says Samuda

Jamaica Observer 20 Mar 2023
“The principal intent of the ban is to prevent non-recyclable, non-biodegradable carcinogenic waste from entering our garbage... The forum facilitated discussions on areas such as marine pollution, plastic recycling and issues related to the improper disposal of plastic waste....
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Shawn Mendes wears a US flag top as he greets excited fans in London before ...

The Daily Mail 20 Mar 2023
According to the website, TommyHilfiger.com, the garments are made from a pulp created from recycled pre- and post-consumer cotton textile waste along with recycled cotton and wool and environmentally friendly organic cotton. Nylon used in the products is made from recycled fishing nets fabric scraps, carpet flooring and industrial plastic....
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New catalyst helps turn plastic waste into useful organosilane compounds

Phys Dot Org 20 Mar 2023
Recycling is a big part of humanity's solution to the global issue of plastic waste. Much of it is about turning plastic waste into plastic products ... New catalyst helps turn plastic waste into useful organosilane compounds (2023, March 20) retrieved 20 March 2023 from https.//phys.org/news/2023-03-catalyst-plastic-organosilane-compounds.html....
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India’s booming packaged water industry and its problems, in charts

Live Mint 20 Mar 2023
According to a Central Pollution Control Board report, only half of the plastic generated in India is recycled.The UNU-INWEH report says that plastic pollution associated with bottled water currently generates billions of plastic bottles every year, with much of the plastic waste not being recycled but disposed of in landfills....
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Recycled Plastic Market Is Estimated To Observe Significant Growth Of SD 56.81 Billion By Growing ...

MENA FN 20 Mar 2023
(MENAFN - PR Newswire) Increasing consumer awareness for sorted plastic waste and government regulation are expected to influence the Recycled Plastics Market growth. PUNE, India, March 20, 2023 ... ....
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Feature: Young Zambian ventures into production of environment-friendly charcoal briquettes

Xinhua 20 Mar 2023
Apart from making charcoal briquettes, the company is also helping in protecting the environment through the collection of wastes such as old calendars, used plastics, and newspapers which they recycle and use in making bags for packaging....
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Why most plastic can\u2019t be recycled

Indian Express 19 Mar 2023
With only 9% of annual plastic waste recycled, the myth that we can recycle our way out of a mounting plastic pollution crisis doesn't add up ... In the United States, which is by far the world's biggest plastics polluter, only around 5% of over 50 million tons of plastic waste produced by households in 2021 was recycled, according to Greenpeace....
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Water stewardship and plastic waste management are two sides of the same coin

B & FT Online 18 Mar 2023
Unfortunately, plastic waste pollution is threatening the health and sustainability of these water bodies ... The issue is compounded by poor waste management systems, pervasive waste littering by consumers and a lack of suitable waste management infrastructure, leading to plastic waste being indiscriminately dumped into water bodies....
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Stephanie Collins: Recycling contamination poses growing problem

Rocky Mount Telegram 18 Mar 2023
Some of the most common contaminants are plastic bags, hazardous waste such as batteries, cell phones, paint etc., items containing food residue, frozen food boxes and candy or food wrappers ... Recycling facilities cannot handle plastic bags ... Remember, plastic bags do not go in the recycle bin.If in doubt, throw it out....
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It's time to lose weight on the plastics diet

Harpers Bazaar 18 Mar 2023
Did you know that the average person generates more than 30kg of plastic waste a year? That's around 4,500 pieces of plastic annually. What’s more, only 35 per cent of recyclable household plastic actually makes it into our recycling bins, according to the government’s Waste Resources Action Programme (Wrap)....

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