Solid Waste in New England
Definitions for the Purpose of This Guide
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's solid waste hierarchy, as outlined in the 1989 Agenda for Action, is: reduce/reuse, recycle (including compost), incineration with energy recovery and landfilling. For the purpose of this guide the following definitions have been compiled from various sources:
Materials:
A synonym for commodities, goods, or products.
Materials Exchange:
A network "service" that helps to redirect unwanted equipment, overruns,
rejects, and other materials from businesses to other businesses,
not-for-profits, schools, community groups, and others that need
the materials. These material exchanges usually have a catalog or
computer listing of materials wanted and materials available and
often have a staff available to help facilitate the exchange of
materials. This term is often used synonymously with "waste exchange."
Recycling:
A process of collecting a product or material, separating and processing
it and then returning it to the economic mainstream in the form
of raw materials; or remelting into a new finished good.
Refurbishing:
A process of making "cosmetic" changes to update the appearance
of a product, such as cleaning, changing fabric, painting or refinishing.
This term is often associated with used office furniture and differs
from remanufacturing in that none of the structural parts of the
product are replaced.
Remanufacturing:
The process of restoring used durable products to "new" condition,
to be used in their original function, by replacing worn or damaged
parts.
Reuse:
The use of a product or material again for the same purpose. in
its original form or with little enhancement or change.
Source Reduction:
The practice of reducing the amount of materials used through redesigning
products, changing manufacturing processes, changing purchasing
habits, and reusing materials, in order to minimize the quantity
and/or toxicity of waste produced from a product or process. This
term is often used synonymously with "waste reduction."
Waste Exchange:
A network "service" functioning the same way as a "materials exchange,"
redirecting waste materials back into the manufacturing or reuse
process by matching companies generating specific wastes with companies
that use those wastes as manufacturing inputs. This term is often
used synonymously with "materials exchange."