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What is Solid Waste?
Table of Contents
  1. Solid Waste Management in Massachusetts
  2. What is Solid Waste?
  3. How Much Do We Produce?
  4. How is it Regulated?
  5. What Happens to the Material We Discard?
  6. MassDEP Waste Reduction Programs 
  7. Solid Waste Glossary

Nearly everything we do leaves behind some kind of solid waste.  Although it can include a wide variety of materials and come in many forms, solid waste in general is comprised of two major components:

  • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) - trash generated by residents, businesses, institutions and municipalities, but not including hazardous waste or other industrial by-products - is the first and largest component of the solid waste stream.  MSW typically contains a wide variety of discarded materials: food scraps, yard wastes, paper and paperboard products, plastics, metal, rubber, leather, textiles, wood, glass, and other miscellaneous materials.  The pie chart below shows the proportions of these materials typically found in MSW disposed of at municipal waste combustors in Massachusetts.

  • Pie Chart of MSW Waste CharaterizationConstruction and Demolition Debris (C&D) - generated from the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, roads, bridges and other structures - is the other major component of solid waste.  C&D waste typically includes asphalt, brick, concrete, metal, wood, wallboard and plaster, and roofing and siding materials (such as wood and asphalt shingles). Wood waste can be painted or stained, unpainted or untreated, pressure-treated, or "engineered" (particle board, for example), and also can take the form of discarded pallets and crates.

There are other types of non-hazardous waste produced in our society, including include non-hazardous industrial wastes and sludges, sewage sludge, junked cars, contaminated soil, medical wastes, and dredge spoils.  While these materials can be produced in large quantities in a typical year, they are usually managed at specific facilities and not disposed of as municipal solid waste.  For example, "end of life" vehicles are crushed and shredded; the resulting steel is shipped to Asia for recycling and residual material is used for daily cover at landfills.  Because these materials are generally managed outside of the major solid waste streams, they have not been a major focus of the Massachusetts Solid Waste Master Plan.

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