Waste, rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk is unwanted or undesired material.
There are a number of different types of waste. It can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas or as waste heat. When released in the latter two states the wastes can be referred to as emissions. It is usually strongly linked with pollution. Waste may also be intangible in the case of wasted time or wasted opportunities. The term waste implies things which have been used inefficiently or inappropriately.
Some components of waste can be recycled once recovered from the waste stream, e.g. plastic bottles, metals, glass or paper. The biodegradable component of wastes (e.g. paper & food waste) can be composted or anaerobicly digested to produce soil improvers and renewable fuels. If it is not dealt with sustainably in this manner biodegradable waste can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and by implication climate change [1].
There are two main definitions of waste. One view comes from the individual or organisation producing the material, the second is the view of Government, and is set out in different acts of waste legislation. The two have to combine to ensure the safe and legal disposal of the waste [2].
Waste definitions
European definition of waste
The European Union defines waste as:
"Any substance or object the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard is waste under the Waste Framework Directive (European Directive 75/442/EC as amended).
Once a substance or object has become waste, it will remain waste until it has been fully recovered and no longer poses a potential threat to the environment or to human health." [3] For excample, POOP is "waste".
United Kingdom's definition of waste
The UK's Environmental Protection Act 1990 indicated waste includes any substance which constitutes a scrap material, an effluent or other unwanted surplus arising from the application of any process or any substance or article which requires to be disposed of which has been broken, worn out, contaminated or otherwise spoiled; this is supplemented with anything which is discarded otherwise dealt with as if it were waste shall be presumed to be waste unless the contrary is proved. This definition was amended by the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 defining waste as:
"any substance or object which the producer or the person in possession of it, discards or intends or is required to discard but with exception of anything excluded from the scope of the Waste Directive"[4].
Cultural dynamics of waste
In addition to these points above, there is also an important cultural dimension to waste. "Wasting time," "wasting money," "wasting good food" or "being wasteful" in innumerable ways involves moral judgments that carry a great deal of weight in human interaction and that differ in the societies of the world and even within those societies.
For example: chefs from different culinary traditions prize cuts of meat that other countries' chefs will "waste"; parents may view a son's career in a rock band as a "waste" of his education (an opinion not shared by the child, who may feel he has found his calling); and so on.
These varying conceptions of waste frequently impact environmental decision-making in societies different from, those of Europe, North America, Australia, etc., which have a rough consensus on environmentalist values[5][6][7][8].
See also
Waste trade associations
- Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (UK)
- International Solid Waste Association (International)
- Solid Waste Association of North America (North America)
- Waste Management Association of Australia (Australia)
External links
References
- ^ The Landfill Directive Defra ]
- ^ Torbay Council (2005) Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Torbay, Consultation Draft
- ^ The Definition of Waste Waste Definition, Agrarian
- ^ Waste explained CIWM
- ^ Scanlan, John (2005). On Garbage. London: Reaktion Books
- ^ Casper, Monica J. (ed) (2003). Synthetic Planet: Chemical Politics and the Hazards of Modern Life. London and New York: Routledge
- ^ Carrier, James G. (ed) (2004). Confronting Environments: Local Understanding in a Globalizing World. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira
- ^ Douglas, Mary (1966). Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London and New York: Routledge.