Sustainability Principles and Practice
Fourth Edition
downcycling
A characteristic of reprocessing a material in which the quality of the material decreases over time.
leachate
Liquid in a landfill consisting of rainwater, liquid from organic waste, and dissolved pollutants.
municipal solid waste (MSW)
Waste from households, offices, institutions, and small businesses; called ‘municipal’ because such waste is the responsibility of local governments.
pollution prevention
The design of a process or activity to reduce or eliminate the creation of pollution or waste at the source.
recycling
A waste disposal method which extracts materials from the waste stream and processes them so that they can be reused in some way.
sanitary landfill
A landfill engineered to prevent leaks from contaminating soil and water.
waste-to-energy
A process which captures methane from landfills and burns it in gas turbines to generate electricity or heat.
waste
Unwanted or discarded material.