Municipal Solid Waste

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-017969",
  "term": "Municipal Solid Waste",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Common garbage or trash generated by industries, businesses, institutions, and homes.\n\n2. Refers to wastes such as durable goods, nondurable goods, containers and packaging, food scraps, yard trimmings, and miscellaneous inorganic wastes from residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial sources, such as appliances, automobile tires, old newspapers, clothing, disposable tableware, office and classroom paper, wood pallets, and cafeteria wastes. Excludes solid wastes from other sources, such as construction and demolition debris, autobodies, municipal sludges, combustion ash, and industrial process wastes that might also be disposed of in municipal waste landfills or incinerators. (U.S. EPA, 1996b)\n\n3. Waste generated in households, commercial establishments, institutions, and businesses. MSW includes used paper, discarded cans and bottles, food scraps, yard trimmings, and other items. Industrial process wastes, agricultural wastes, mining waste, and sewage sludges are NOT MSW.\n\n4. Garbage that is disposed of in a sanitary or municipal solid waste landfill.\n\n5. Residential solid waste and some non-hazardous commercial, institutional, and industrial wastes. This material is generally sent to municipal landfills for disposal. See landfill.\n\n6. Durable goods (e.g., appliances, tires, batteries), nondurable goods (e.g., newspapers, books, magazines), containers and packaging, food wastes, yard trimmings, and miscellaneous organic wastes from residential, commercial, and industrial nonprocess sources.\n\n7. Waste from homes, institutions, and commercial sources consisting of everyday items such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles and cans, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, consumer electronics, and batteries. (Excluded from this category are municipal wastewater treatment sludges, industrial process wastes, automobile bodies, combustion ash, and construction and demolition debris.)\n\n8. Garbage, refuse, sludges, wastes, and other discarded materials resulting from residential and non-industrial operations and activities, such as household activities, office functions, and commercial housekeeping wastes.\n\n9. Solid phase household, commercial/retail, and/or institutional waste. Household waste includes material discarded by single and multiple residential dwellings, hotels, motels, and other similar permanent or temporary housing establishments or facilities. Commercial/retail waste includes material discarded by stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses, non-manufacturing activities at industrial facilities, and other similar establishments or facilities. Institutional waste includes material discarded by schools, nonmedical waste discarded by hospitals, material discarded by non-manufacturing activities at prisons and government facilities, and material discarded by other similar establishments or facilities. Household, commercial/retail, and institutional wastes include yard waste, refuse-derived fuel, and motor vehicle maintenance materials. Insofar as there is separate collection, processing and disposal of industrial source waste streams consisting of used oil, wood pallets, construction, renovation, and demolition wastes (which includes, but is not limited to, railroad ties and telephone poles), paper, clean wood, plastics, industrial process or manufacturing wastes, medical waste, motor vehicle parts or vehicle fluff, or used tires that do not contain hazardous waste identified or listed under 42 U.S.C. § 6921, such wastes are not municipal solid waste. However, such wastes qualify as municipal solid waste where they are collected with other municipal solid waste or are otherwise combined with other municipal solid waste for processing and/or disposal.\n\n10. Normally, residential and commercial solid wastes generated within a community.\n\n11. Household, commercial/retail, and/or institutional waste.\n\n12. Household, commercial/retail, and/or institutional waste. Household, commercial/retail, and institutional waste does not include used oil; sewage sludge; wood pallets; construction, renovation, and demolition wastes (which includes but is not limited to railroad ties and telephone poles); clean wood; industrial process or manufacturing wastes; medical waste; or motor vehicles (including motor vehicle parts or vehicle fluff). Household, commercial/retail, and institutional wastes include:(1) Yard waste;(2) Refuse-derived fuel; and(3) Motor vehicle maintenance materials limited to vehicle batteries and tires except as specified in § 60.50a(c).\n\n13. Household, commercial/retail, or institutional waste. Household waste includes material discarded by residential dwellings, hotels, motels, and other similar permanent or temporary housing. Commercial/retail waste includes material discarded by stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses, nonmanufacturing activities at industrial facilities, and other similar establishments or facilities. Institutional waste includes materials discarded by schools, by hospitals (nonmedical), by nonmanufacturing activities at prisons and government facilities, and other similar establishments or facilities. Household, commercial/retail, and institutional waste does include yard waste and refuse-derived fuel. Household, commercial/retail, and institutional waste does not include used oil; sewage sludge; wood pallets; construction, renovation, and demolition wastes (which include railroad ties and telephone poles); clean wood; industrial process or manufacturing wastes; medical waste; or motor vehicles (including motor vehicle parts or vehicle fluff).\n\n14. Residential solid waste and some non-hazardous commercial, institutional, and industrial wastes. This material is generally sent to municipal landfills for disposal.",
  "abbreviation": "MSW",
  "subject": "Land, waste and cleanup",
  "references": [
    "Terms of Env; Superfund Reforms Glossary; Terms of Environment",
    "Measuring Recycling Guidance Glossary",
    "Consumer Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste: Reusable Vocabulary",
    "Superfund for Students and Teachers Glossary",
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms; Greenhouse Gas Emissions",
    "RCRA Orientation Manual 2008 Glossary",
    "EPA Report on the Environment Glossary at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/roe/glossary.htm; Report on the Environment (ROE) Glossary",
    "40 CFR 761.3 (CFR 2013)",
    "40 CFR 98.6 (CFR 2013)",
    "40 CFR 240.101 (CFR 2013)",
    "40 CFR 60.51b (CFR 2013)",
    "40 CFR 60.51a (CFR 2013)",
    "40 CFR 62.15410 (CFR 2018)",
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/municipal-solid-waste/"
}