Definition of different words used in Food Industry

Aerobic
composting

a
method of composting organic wastes using bacteria that need oxygen. This
requires that the waste be exposed to air, either via turning or by forcing air
through pipes that pass through the material.

Anaerobic
digestion

a
method of composting that does not require oxygen. This composting method
produces methane. Also known as anaerobic composting.

Ash

the
noncombustible solid by-products of incineration or other burning process.

Autoclaving

sterilization
via a pressurized, high-temperature steam process.

Baghouse

a
combustion plant emission control device that consists of an array of fabric
filters through which flue gases pass in an incinerator flue. Particles are
trapped and thus prevented from passing into the atmosphere.

Basel
Convention

an
international agreement on the control of trans boundary movements of hazardous
wastes and their disposal, drawn up in March 1989 in Basel, Switzerland, with
over 100 countries as signatories.

Biodegradable
material

any
organic material that can be broken down by microorganisms into simpler, more
stable compounds. Most organic wastes (e.g., food, paper) are biodegradable.

Bottom
ash

relatively
coarse, noncombustible, generally toxic residue of incin-eration that
accumulates on the bottom of a furnace.

Bulky
waste

large
wastes such as appliances, furniture, and trees and branches, that cannot be
handled by normal MSW processing methods.

Cell

the
basic unit by which a landfill is developed. It is the general area where
incoming waste is tipped, spread, compacted, and covered.

Chemocar

a
special vehicle for the collection of toxic and hazardous wastes from
residences, shops, and institutions.

Cleaner
production

processes
designed to reduce the wastes generated by production.

Co-disposal

the
disposal of different types of waste in one area of a landfill or dump. For
instance, sewage sludges may be disposed of with regular solid wastes.

Cogeneration

production
of both electricity and steam from one facility, from the same fuel source.

Collection

the
process of picking up wastes from residences, businesses, or a collection
point, loading them into a vehicle, and transporting them to a processing,
transfer, or disposal site.

Combustibles

burnable
materials in the waste stream, including paper, plastics, wood, and food and
garden wastes.

Combustion

in
Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) the
burning of materials in an incinerator.

Commingled

mixed
recyclables that are collected together after having been separated from mixed
MSW.

Communal
collection

a
system of collection in which individuals bring their waste directly to a
central point, from which it is collected.

Compactor
vehicle

a
collection vehicle using high-power mechanical or hydraulic equipment to reduce
the volume of solid waste.

Composite
liner

a
liner system for a land-fill consisting of an engineered soil layer and a
synthetic sheet of material.

Compost

the
material resulting from composting. Compost, also called humus, is a soil
conditioner and in some instances is used as a fertilizer.

Composting

biological
decomposition of solid organic materials by bacteria, fungi, and other
organisms into a soil-like product.

Construction
and demolition debris

waste
generated by construction and demolition of buildings, such as bricks,
concrete, drywall, lumber, miscellaneous metal parts and sheets, packaging
materials, etc.

Controlled
dump

a
planned landfill that incorporates to some extent some of the features of a
sanitary landfill: siting with respect to hydrogeological suitability, grading,
compaction in some cases, leachate control, partial gas management, regular
(not usually daily) cover, access control, basic record-keeping, and controlled
waste picking.

Curbside
collection

collection
of compostables, recyclables, or trash at the edge of a sidewalk in front of a
residence or shop.

Curing

allowing
partially composted materials to sit in a pile for a specified period of time
as part of the maturing process in composting.

Disposal

the
final handling of solid waste, following collection, processing, or
incineration. Disposal most often means placement of wastes in a dump or a
landfill.

Diversion
rate

the
proportion of waste material diverted for recycling, composting, or reuse and
away from landfilling or incineration.

Drop-off
center

an
area or facility for receiving compostables or recyclables that are dropped off
by waste generators.

Dump

see
controlled dump and open dump.

Effluent: out
flowing liquid and broken by the action of

     anaerobic
bacteria.

Emissions

gases
released into the atmosphere.

Energy
recovery

the
process of extracting useful energy from waste, typically from the heat
produced by incineration or via methane gas from landfills.

Environmental
impact assessment (EIA)

an
evaluation designed to identify and predict the impact of an action or a
project on the environment and human health and well-being. Can include risk
assessment as a component, along with economic and land use assessment.

Environmental
risk assessment (EnRA)

an
evaluation of the interactions of agents, humans, and ecological resources.
Comprised of human health risk assessment and ecological risk assessment,
typically evaluating the probabilities and magnitudes of harm that could come
from environmental contaminants.

Fabric
filter

see
baghouse.

Flaring

the
burning of methane emitted from collection pipes at a landfill.

Fluidized-bed
incinerator

a
type of incinerator in which the stoker grate is replaced by a bed of limestone
or sand that can withstand high temperatures. The heating of the bed and the
high air velocities used cause the bed to bubble, which gives rise to the term
fluidized.

Fly
ash

fly
ash are lightweight particles captured in exhaust gas by electrostatic
precipitators and bag houses of coal-fired power plants. Fly ash is
very fine with cement like properties and has long been used as an
additive in cement.

Garbage

in
everyday usage, refuse in general. Some MSWM manuals use garbage to mean
"food wastes," although this usage is not common.

Groundwater

water
beneath the earth's surface that fills underground pockets (known as aquifers),
supplying wells and springs.

Hazardous
waste

waste
that is reactive, toxic, corrosive, or otherwise dangerous to living things
and/or the environment. Many industrial by-products are hazardous.

Heavy
metals

metals
of high atomic weight and density, such as mercury, lead, and cadmium, that are
toxic to living organisms.

Household
hazardous waste

products
used in residences, such as paints and some cleaning compounds, that are toxic
to living organisms and/or the environment.

Humus

the
end product of composting, also called compost.

Incineration

the
process of burning solid waste under controlled conditions to reduce its weight
and volume, and often to produce energy.

Informal
sector

the
part of an economy that is characterized by private, usually small-scale,
labor-intensive, largely unregulated, and unregistered manufacturing or
provision of services.

Inorganic
waste

            Inorganic
wastes (also known as non-biodegradable waste) are chemical substances of   mineral origin. They
include waste material such as sand, salt, Iron, Calcium, and other    mineral and
many synthetics materials that are only slightly affected by
the action of       organisms.

Integrated
solid waste management

coordinated
use of a set of waste management methods, each of which can play a role in an
overall MSVVM plan.

International
NGO

an
organization that has an international headquarters and branches in major world
regions, often with the purpose of undertaking development assistance.

In-vessel
composting

composting
in an enclosed vessel or drum with a controlled internal environment,
mechanical mixing, and aeration.

Itinerant
waste buyer

a
person who moves around the streets buying (or bartering for) reusable and
recyclable materials.

Landfill
gases

gases
arising from the decomposition of organic wastes; principally methane, carbon
dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. Such gases may cause explosions at landfills.

Landfilling

the
final disposal of solid waste by placing it in a controlled fashion in a place
intended to be permanent. The Source Book uses this term for both controlled
dumps and sanitary landfllls.

Leachate

liquid
(which may be partly produced by deromposition of organic matter) that has
seeped through a landfill or a compost pile and has accumulated bacteria and
other possibly harmful dissolved or suspended materials. If uncontrolled,
leachate can contaminate both groundwater and surface water.

Leachate
pond

a
pond or tank constructed at a landfill to receive the leachate from the area.
Usually the pond is designed to provide some treatment of the leachate, by
allowing settlement of solids or by aeration to promote biological processes.

Lift

the
completed layer of compacted waste in a cell at a landfill.

Liner

a
protective layer, made of soil and/or synthetic materials, installed along the
bottom and sides of a landfill to prevent or reduce the flow of leachate into
the environment.

Manual
landfill

a
landfill in which most operations are carried out without the use of mechanized
equipment.

Market
waste

primarily
organic waste, such as leaves, skins, and unsold food, discarded at or near
food markets.

Mass-burn
incinerator

a
type of incinerator in which solid waste is burned without prior sorting or
processing.

Materials
recovery

obtaining
materials that can be reused or recycled.

Materials
recovery facility (MRF)

a
facility for separating commingled recyclables by manual or mechanical means.
Some MRFs are designed to separate recyclables from mixed MSW. MRFs then bale
and market the recovered materials.

Methane

an
odorless, colorless, flammable, explosive gas, 
produced by anaerobically decomposing MSW at landfills.

Microenterprise

a
synonym for small-scale enterprise: a business, often family-based or a
cooperative, that usually employs fewer than ten people and may operate
"informally."

Mixed
waste

unsorted
materials that have been discarded into the waste stream.

Modular
incinerator

a
relatively small type of prefabricated solid waste combustion unit.

Monofill

a
landfill intended for one type of waste only.

MSW

municipal
solid waste.

MSWM

municipal
solid waste management.

Municipal
solid waste

all
solid waste generated in an area except industrial and agricultural wastes.
Sometimes includes construction and demolition debris and other special wastes
that may enter the municipal waste stream. Generally excludes hazardous wastes
except to the extent that they enter the municipal waste stream. Sometimes
defined to mean all solid wastes that a city authority accepts responsibility
for managing in some way.

Municipal
solid waste management

planning
and implementation of systems to handle MSW.

NGO

Nongovernmental
organization. May be used to refer to a range of organizations from small
community groups, through national organizations, to international ones.
Frequently these are not-for-profit organizations.

Night
soil

human
excreta.

Open
dump

an
unplanned "landfill" that incorporates few if any of the
characteristics of a controlled landfill. There is typically no leachate
control, no access control, no cover, no management, and many waste pickers.

Organic
waste

technically,
waste containing carbon, including paper, plastics, wood, food wastes, and yard
wastes. In practice in MSWM, the term is often used in a more restricted sense
to mean material that is more directly derived from plant or animal sources,
and which can generally be decomposed by microorganisms.

Pathogen

an
organism capable of causing disease.

Picker

see
waste picker.

Pollution

the
contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of waste or
other offensive materials.

Post-consumer
materials

materials
that a consumer has finished using, which the consumer may sell, give away, or
discard as wastes.

Primary
material

a
commercial material produced from virgin materials used for manufacturing basic
products. Examples include wood pulp, iron ore, and silica sand.

Privatization

a
general term referring to a range of contracts and other agreements that
transfer the provision of some services or production from the public sector to
private firms or organizations.

Processing

preparing
MSW materials for subsequent use or management, using processes such as baling,
magnetic separation, crushing, and shredding. The term is also sometimes used
to mean separation of recyclables from mixed MSW.

Producer
responsibility

a
system in which a producer of products or services takes responsibility for the
waste that results from the products or services marketed, by reducing
materials used in production, making repairable or recyclable goods, and/ or
reducing packaging.

Putrescible

subject
to decomposition or decay. Usually used in reference to food wastes and other
organic wastes that decay quickly.

Pyrolysis

chemical
decomposition of a substance by heat in the absence of oxygen, resulting in
various hydrocarbon gases and carbon-like residue.

Recyclables

items
that can be reprocessed into feedstock for new products. Common examples are
paper, glass, aluminum, corrugated cardboard, and plastic containers.

Recycling

the
process of transforming materials into raw materials for manufacturing new
products, which may or may not be similar to the original product.

Refuse

a
term often used interchangeably with solid waste.

Refuse-derived
fuel (RDF)

fuel
produced from MSW that has undergone processing. Processing can include
separation of recyclables and noncombustible materials, shredding, size
reduction, and pelletizing.

Resource
recovery

the
extraction and utilization of materials and energy from wastes.

Reuse

the
use of a product more than once in its original form, for the same or a new
purpose.

Rubbish

a
general term for solid waste. Sometimes used to exclude food wastes and ashes.

Sanitary
landfill

an
engineered method of disposing of solid waste on land, in a manner that meets
most of the standard specifications, including sound siting, extensive site
preparation, proper leachate and gas management and monitoring, compaction,
daily and final cover, complete access control, and record-keeping.

Scrubber

emission
control device in an incinerator, used primarily to control acid gases, but
also to remove some heavy metals.

Secondary
material

a
material recovered from post-consumer wastes for use in place of a primary
material in manufacturing a product.

Secure
landfill

a
disposal facility designed to permanently isolate wastes from the environment.
This entails burial of the wastes in a landfill that includes clay and/ or
synthetic liners, leachate collection, gas collection (in cases where gas is
generated), and an impermeable cover.

Septage

sludge
removed from a septic tank (a chamber that holds human excreta).

Set-out
container

a
box or bucket used for residential waste that is placed outside for collection.

Sewage
sludge

a
semi-liquid residue that settles to the bottom of canals and pipes carrying
sewage or industrial wastewaters, or in the bottom of tanks used in treating
wastewaters.

Site
remediation

treatment
of a contaminated site by removing contaminated solids or liquids or treating
them on-site.

Source
reduction

the
design, manufacture, acquisition, and reuse of materials so as to minimize the
quantity and/or toxicity of waste produced.

Source
separation

setting
aside of compostable and recyclable materials from the waste stream before they
are collected with other MSW, to facilitate reuse, recycling, and composting.

Special
wastes

wastes
that are ideally considered to be outside of the MSW stream, but which
sometimes enter it and must often be dealt with by municipal authorities. These
include household hazardous waste, medical waste, construction and demolition
debris, war and earthquake debris, tires, oils, wet batteries, sewage sludge,
human excreta, slaughterhouse waste, and industrial waste.

Subsidy

direct
or indirect payment from government to businesses, citizens, or institutions to
encourage a desired activity.

Tipping
fee

a
fee for unloading or dumping waste at a landfill, transfer station,
incinerator, or recycling facility.

Tipping
floor

unloading
area for vehicles that are delivering MSW to a transfer station or incinerator.

Transfer

the
act of moving waste from a collection vehicle to a larger transport vehicle.

Transfer
point

a
designated point, often at the edge of a neighborhood, where  collection vehicles transfer waste to larger
vehicles for transport to disposal sites.

Transfer
station

a
major facility at which MSW from collection vehicles is consolidated into loads
that are transported by larger trucks or other means to more distant final
disposal facilities, typically landfills.

Vectors

organisms
that carry disease causing pathogens. At landfills rodents, flies, and birds
are the main vectors that spread pathogens beyond the landfill site.

Vermiculture

see
worrn culture.

Virgin
materials

any
basic material for industrial processes that has not previously been used, for
example, wood-pulp trees, iron ore, crude oil, bauxite.

Waste
characterization study

an
analysis of samples from a waste stream to determine its composition.

Waste
collector

a
person employed by a local authority or a private firm to collect waste from
residences, businesses, and community bins.

Waste
dealer

a
middleman who buys recyclable materials from waste generators and itinerant
buyers and sells them, after sorting and some processing, to wholesale brokers
or recycling industries.

Waste
management hierarchy

a
ranking of waste management operations according to their environmental or
energy benefits. The purpose of the waste management hierarchy is to make waste
management practices as environmentally sound as possible.

Waste
picker

a
person who picks out recyclables from mixed waste wherever it may be
temporarily accessible or disposed of.

Waste
reduction

all
means of reducing the amount of waste that is produced initially and that must
be collected by solid waste authorities. This ranges from legislation and
product design to local programs designed to keep recyclables and compostables
out of the final waste stream.

Waste
stream

the
total flow of waste from a community, region, or facility.

Waste-to-energy
(WTE) plant

a
facility that uses solid waste materials (processed or raw) to produce energy.
WTE plants include incinerators that produce steam for district heating or
industrial use, or that generate electricity; they also include facilities that
convert landfill gas to electricity.

Water
table

level
below the earth's surface at which the ground becomes saturated with water.

Wetland

an
area that is regularly wet or flooded and has a water table that stands at or
above the land surface for at least part of the year.

Windrow

an
elongated pile of aerobically composting materials that are turned periodically
to expose the materials to oxygen and to control the temperature to promote
biodegradation.

Working
face

the
length and width of the row in which waste is being deposited at a landfill.
Also known as the tipping face.

Worin
castings

the
material produced from the digestive tracts of worms as they live in earth or
compost piles. The castings are rich in nitrates, potassium, phosphorous,
calcium, and magnesium.

Worm
culture

a
relatively cool, aerobic composting process that uses worms and microorganisms.
Also known as vermiculture.

Yard
waste

leaves,
grass clippings, prunings, and other natural organic matter discarded from
yards and gardens.