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Recycling glossary of terms
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Biodegradable | Plant or animal sources that break down through natural processes (by bacteria) |
| Compost | Plant or animal sources which when decomposed can be added to earth as a fertiliser to improve its quality |
| Household waste | Rubbish thrown in your bins at home and collected by the council |
| Kerbside collection | Any regular collection of rubbish, recycling, food waste, garden waste, textiles and electricals from the kerbside of a property |
| Landfill site | Rubbish is often put in a hole in the ground - usually an old quarry. Landfill has many negative impacts including the release of gas when materials breakdown. Space is rapidly running out for new sites and existing landfill is filling up quickly. |
| MRF - Materials Recycling Facility | This is the destination for recycling from households (plastic bottles, cardboard, paper cans and glass). The recycling is sorted into different materials through a combination of machines and people sorting into different types. The process also compresses the recyclables before transferring them for reprocessing. |
| Recyclable materials | Includes many kinds of glass, plastic, metal, paper, textiles and electronics. These can be turned from 'used' materials into new products. |
| Reduction | Wasting less so reducing the amount of rubbish created. |
| Re-use | The act of using an item more than once, for example, we provide reusable recycling bags and many supermarkets have 'long life' bags that can be used over and over again. |
Last modified:
15/09/2025