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 time on

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Do not waste time on hecklers, trolls, Marcos urged

The Manila Times 18 Apr 2024
to "not waste time" on hecklers, trolls, and destabilizers that hurl lies against him after he flagged an alleged "secret deal" between former President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a statement on Wednesday, Villafuerte said that Marcos should not "waste ......
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Letter: Taxpayers already pay, why meters?

Cook Islands News 15 Apr 2024
Regarding our water system – I think it is time for Government to come clean and do the job the people expect them to do and not waste time on political add ons. We don’t need water boards and have more political hacks on board and be paid for nothing....

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Former President Donald Trump speaks alongside attorney Todd Blanche as they return from a lunch break in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
AP / Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

Trump meets with Orbán, Saudis, Cameron as they prepare for his return

The Hill | 19 Apr 2024
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