Recycling Glossary of Terms

BALE A compacted and bound cube of recycled materials
BALER Equipment that compacts and binds recyclable materials to reduce volume and transportation costs. (BALING).
BIODEGRADABLE Able to break down or decompose rapidly under natural conditions and processes
COMPACTOR Equipment that densifies recyclable material and contains it under pressure, not allowing it to expand until it is unloaded.
COMPOST A mixture of garbage, degradable trash and soil in which bacteria in the soil break down the mixture into a soil conditioner (not a fertilizer). It has high organic content but low nitrogen
CORRUGATED CARDBOARD Unbleached, unwaxed kraft paper with ruffled inner liner. A recyclable material used to manufacture cardboard boxes
HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (HDPE) #2 Used to make plastic bottles, milk cartons and other products. It produces toxic fumes when burned. Often referred to as No.2 Plastic.
WHITE PAPER High Grade valuable type of paper such as computer printout, white ledger and tab cards.
INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendation that promotes solid waste management through an integrated system that uses resource reduction, recycling, waste to energy incineration and landfilling to manage the reclamation, reuse or disposal of plastics in the waste stream.
LANDFILL A private or municipal site where non-hazardous solid or municipal waste is buried.
LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE) #4 Often referred as No.4 Plastic.
MIXED PAPER Lower grade types of paper such as mixed office paper, magazines and newspaper.
MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY (MRF) A recycling facility that sorts and processes collected mixed recyclables into individual streams for market. Also known as an intermidiate processing center (IPC).
NATURAL RESOURCE Naturally occurring material such as soil, wood, air, water, oil or minerals. They are valuable to people, plants, and wildlife.
NONRENEWABLE RESOURCE A natural material that is considered finite in amount (e.g., coal, copper, petroleum). This is because it takes a great length of time to form (longer than a lifetime, maybe more).
ORGANIC Created from living organisms. Contains Carbon and Hydrogen
PAPERBOARD General term for heavyweight grades of paper that are used for containers, boxes, cartons and packaging materials. It is divided into: Containerboard, Boxboard and Other Paperboard i.e. cereal boxes, drink boxes
POLYETHYLENE TERAPHTHALATE (PET) #1 A type of plastic that is clear or colored transparent with high gloss. It is used for carbonated beverage bottles and some household cleanser containers. Often referred to as No. 1 Plastic.
 POLYPROPILENE (PP) #5 Plastic with a smooth surface that cracks easily when bent and is difficult to scratch. Typical uses are: battery cases, dairy tubs, jar lids, straws and syrup bottles. It is hard to collect in marketable quantities for recycling and has limited uses in its recycled form. Often referred to as No. 5 Plastic.
 POLYSTYRENE (PS) #6 Plastic with a smooth surface that cracks easily when bent. Used for fast food packaging, styrofoam cups and packing peanuts, it takes up a large part of landfill space because of its bulk. Often referred to as No. 6 Plastic.
 POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC) #3 Environmentally indestructible plastic that releases toxic hydrocloric acid when burned. It is used for food wraps and containers for personal care products. Often referred to as V-3 or No. 3 Plastic.
POST CONSUMER MATERIAL Any household or commercial product which has served its original, intended use.
PRE-CONSUMER WASTE Waste from any manufacturing process, such as glass broken in the factory or paper offcuts from a paper mill; specifically, materials that never reach the consumer.
PRECYCLE Source reduction option whereby evaluation and selection of items for purchase is dependent upon method of manufacture, product content and recyclability of product after consumer use.
RECYCLING Process by which materials that would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated or processed and returned to the economic mainstream to be reused in the form of raw materials or finished goods.
REPROCESSING Operation of reforming reclaimed materials into new products.
REUSE To use a product repeteadly in the same form (e.g.: glass bottles, cloth diapers).
SOLID WASTE Nonsoluble, discarded solid materials, including sewage sludge, municipal garbage, industrial wastes, agricultural refuse, demolition wastes and mining residues.
SOURCE REDUCTION Reducing the quantity of waste which in turn lessens the amount of material that enters the waste stream.
SOURCE SEPARATION The sorting of specific waste materials prior to their collection or deposition into a collection container.
SPECIAL WASTES Any waste requiring special handling such as scrap tires, used motor oil, hospital wastes or household hazardous wastes.
TIPPING FEE Charge for the unloading or dumping of waste at a recycling facility, composting facility, landfill, transfer station or waste to energy facility.
WASTE STREAM The flow of waste material from generation to disposal.
YARD WASTE (YW) Leaves, grass clippings and other organic wastes produced as part of yard and garden development and maintenance.
SINGLE STREAM One collection container for all paper, glass, metal and plastic recyclables. The materials are then separated and processed at a MRF and sold to end-markets.