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:

Waste (play)

Waste is a play by the English author Harley Granville Barker. It exists in two wholly different versions, from 1906 and 1927. The first version was refused a license by the Lord Chamberlain and had to be performed privately by the Stage Society in 1907; the second was finally staged in public at the Westminster Theatre in 1936.

Plot

The plot centres around ambitious independent politician Henry Trebell, his plans for a bill to disestablish the Church of England and his fall from grace and suicide after his affair with married woman Amy O'Connell, who dies after a botched abortion. The title may refer to the waste of his potential talents due to the scandal, the loss of the disestablishment bill and the termination of Amy's pregnancy.

Dramatis personae (1927 version)

  • Gilbert Wedgecroft, Trebell's doctor
  • Walter Kent, Trebell's secretary
  • Amy O'Connell, Trebell's lover
  • Russell Blackborough, Tory MP and financier
  • Justin O'Connell, Amy's estranged Irish husband
  • Lord Charles Cantilupe, Tory MP
  • Waste (disambiguation)

    Waste is unwanted or undesired material.

    Waste, WASTE or W.A.S.T.E. may also refer to:

  • Waste of energy: the opposite of energy conservation
  • Metabolic waste is any unwanted substances that are expelled from living organisms.
  • Waste (law), a legal term concerning property
  • Waste of time
  • as a proper name
  • Waste (play), a 1906 play by Harley Granville-Barker
  • Podcasts:

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    Latest News for: waste references

    Growing electronic waste raises concerns in Africa

    China Daily 01 Apr 2025
    Citing the reference tool Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 by the UN Institute for Training and Research, William Kabogo, Kenya's cabinet secretary for information, communications, and the digital economy, ...

    Letters to the Editor, April 1st: On the delivery of public infrastructure projects, and Netanyahu’s plan for Gaza

    The Irish Times 01 Apr 2025
    You report on Uisce Éireann’s chairman, Jerry Grant, commenting on the planned north Dublin waste water treatment plant – permission was granted in 2019 but was the subject of a judicial review and ...

    CAG report on air pollution from vehicles to be presented in Delhi assembly on April 1

    Hindustan Times 31 Mar 2025
    The CAG report suggests that due to the government's mismanagement and negligence, crores of rupees from Delhi taxpayers have been wasted. This report is now being referred to the Committee on ...

    MPCB suggests recommendations to improve Hadapsar waste processing plant

    Hindustan Times 29 Mar 2025
    The report titled ‘Hadapsar resident demand action against open garbage burning’ has highlighted the issue of waste dumping and burning in public places and how it has affected the citizens in the area.

    Not long ago, government efficiency was a bipartisan goal

    The Hill 29 Mar 2025
    According to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, often referred to as the “congressional watchdog,” waste occurs when “individuals or organizations expend government resources ...

    Gad Announces His Intention to Solicit Stockholder Support For His Slate of Five Uniquely Qualified ...

    ACCESSWIRE 27 Mar 2025
    Gad's director candidates and his concerns about the remainder of the Board's continued entrenchment actions and wasteful spending, please refer to his press release issued on March 18, 2025, which ...

    Florida wildfires: Here's how close fires are burning to the Treasure Coast

    TCPalm 27 Mar 2025
    The Florida Forest Service listed the fire as a reported wildfire, but Martin County Fire Rescue referred to it as a trash fire. It occurred at the Martin County Solid Waste & Recycling transfer ...

    How organised crime gangs took over illegal fly-tipping

    The Daily Telegraph 26 Mar 2025
    the term also refers to illegal waste sites and waste exports, the mis-describing of waste and illicit dumping, among other activities.

    Wednesday letters: Trump accountability, nuclear energy concerns, and health care gratitude

    Post Independent 26 Mar 2025
    There is a “strong possibility the waste would need to be stored onsite, as transporting radioactive waste carries severe risks.” The letter references power plant disasters, and should ...

    As March Madness kicks off, will Texas legalize sports betting? Here's what's on the table

    Austin American-Statesman 26 Mar 2025
    House Joint Resolution 134, which was referred to the House Committee for State Affairs on March 19, is the latest attempt to legalize sports wagering in Texas ... HJR 102 also will not be referred. Can’t waste committee/floor time in the last days.”.

    5 takeaways from House hearing on NPR, PBS

    The Hill 26 Mar 2025
    Democrats also made repeated reference to the controversy stemming from a Signal group chat used by U.S ... Throughout the hearing, Republicans made regular reference to the U.S. debt and argued funding public broadcasters are a waste of taxpayer money.

    Hertfordshire farmer pays to clear 40 tonnes of fly-tipped waste

    BBC News 25 Mar 2025
    A farmer had to spend thousands of pounds to remove 40 tonnes of fly-tipped waste from her land ... She visited these places and discovered some did not carry out proper checks on who they had hired to remove their waste.

    Bravo fans react to Love Hotel trailer: ‘So excited for this’

    Monsters & Critics 25 Mar 2025
    Start the countdown for the newest dating series on Bravo ... Love Hotel trailer teases tears, drama, and a love triangle ... She might have been referring to Ashley Darby, who didn’t seem to waste time locking lips with her suitors ... Pic credit ... ....

    When could $5,000 DOGE checks arrive? Are they really coming? Experts weigh in

    The Independent (inde) 25 Mar 2025
    “There’s no money there, and certainly not enough money to make a big contribution to taxpayers,” said Kamarck, who worked with Vice President Al Gore to cut government waste in the Clinton administration.

    Recession signs are flashing in 44 states as tariff risks and DOGE cuts threaten growth

    Business Insider 25 Mar 2025
    "Elon Musk is turning that prior stimulus into restraint long before any tax cuts get passed into law," Rosenberg told BI, referring to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO's efforts to ostensibly cut government fraud and waste with his DOGE agency ... ....
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