Waste, Solid

SOLID WASTE, ALSO called trash or garbage, commonly refers to domestic waste. Waste generated [Page 1909]from households includes food scraps, paper, newspaper, clothes, packaging, cans, bottles, grass clippings, furniture, paints, batteries, and more. In developing countries, it is often contaminated by hospital waste, industrial waste, and other hazardous waste. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines waste as “something which the owner no longer wants at a given place and time, and which has no current perceived value.” According to P.R. White, waste often contains the same materials found in useful products; it only differs in its lack of value.

Modernization and higher standards of living are often followed by an increase in paper and plastic waste.

Solid waste is also the term used internationally to describe nonliquid ...