Recycling Glossary Michigan

The following information was sourced from Green NetWorld.

Bale
A large bundle, usually rectangular, of compressed or densified recyclable materials such as plastic beverage bottles.

Buyback Centers
locations where consumers can drop off recyclables and receive payment for them.

Closed Loop Recycling
The process of collecting an item like a bottle and processing it back into another bottle.

Colored Ledger
Same as white ledger, only paper is colored.

Commercial Scrap
Recyclables that result from business sources such as restaurants, stores, theaters, stadiums, airlines, trains, demolition companies, and similar enterprises.

Commingled Materials
Recyclables, all mixed together, such as plastic bottles with glass and metal containers. Commingled materials require sorting after collection.

Computer Paper
Also known as CPO (computer print out). Continuous paper printed on an impact printer, usually solid white, including blue or green- lined, pin fed printer paper that is untreated and uncoated, Does not include laser-printed paper.

Corrugated
Also known as OCC (Old Corrugated Cartons). It is used for shipping containers and is manufactured from a fluted paperboard, called corrugating medium, sandwiched between two paperboards called linerboard.

Curbside Recycling
A process of collection in which separated or commingled recyclables are set out in containers at residentsl curbsides for pickup.

Densification
The process of packing recyclables closely together, such as in a bale, to facilitate shipping and processing.

Drop-Off Centers
Locations where discards can be left for recycling.

End User or Consumer
An industrial plant or other facility where recyclables are used as feedstock for the manufacture of new products.

Ferrous metals
iron and steel, from the Latin ferrum meaning iron.

Filestock
A speciality grade of (mixed) office type papers that is derived from discarded files. These may come from offices, record storage, records centers, archives, libraries, etc. Mostly white and colored ledger but may also include carbonless paper, bleached file folders etc.

Handler
A company thtat performs at least one of the following processes on plastics for recycling: sorting, baling, shredding, or granulating.

HDPE - High density polyethylene
Colored or opaque plastic used in laundry product bottles and milk jugs. Its recycled life: more laundry product bottles, trash bins and base cups for plastic soft drink bottles.

Industrial Scrap
Recyclables generated by manufacturing processes, such as trimmings and other leftover materials, or recyclable products that have been used by industry but are no longer needed, such as buckets, shipping containers, signs, pallets, and wraps.

Mixed
A mixture of various grades of recyclable waste paper not limited by fiber content and includes most types of clean and dry paper including glossy, white ledger and computer papers, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phone books, cards, laser-printed white ledger, windowed envelopes, sticky notes, and often contains corrugated and brown paper.

MRF - Materials Recovery Facility
A recycling operation that sorts materials by type, then cleans and compresses the recyclables before shipping them to reprocessors.

MSW - Municipal Solid Waste
Trash from homes and businesses.

Municipal Solid Waste
The combined residential and commercial waste material generated in a given municipal area.

Newspaper
Also known as ONP (Old News Paper), is used primarily for making newsprint, corrugated or folding boxes.

Nonferrous metals
those metals which contain little or no iron.

Paperboard
All cardboard. Comes in varying thickness: some flat, some corrugated.

PETE or PET - Polyethylene terephthalate
Clear plastic used in some household cleaning product bottles, as well as in soda bottles. Its recycled life: new cleaning product bottles, carpets and insulation for winter jackets.

Post Consumer Waste
Used materials, such as empty detergent bottles and aluminum cans, that go into the trash if they are not recycled.

Pre-Consumer Waste
Scraps and trash created during the manufacturing process, such as paperboard trimmed away when making cartons.

Process Scrap
Residues from plastics manufacturing processes, such as trimmings, etc, that are reused in manufacturing; also called home scrap.

Reclaimer
A company that performs at least one of the following processes on plastics collected for recycling: washing/cleaning, pelletizing, or manufacturing a new product.

Sanitary Landfill
An area where waste is dumped, then buried beneath a layer of earth. Landfills are usually equipped with a liner to reduce soil and water pollution from contaminated seepage.

Source Separation
Any method that separates recyclables from waste at the point at which they are generated. Such methods include curbside collection, buyback programs, and drop-off programs.

Virgin Materials
Any basic materials for industrial processing that have not been previously used, such as petroleum for plastics manufacture, iron ore for steel manufacture, wood pulp for paper manufacture, or bauxite ore for aluminum manufacture.

Waste
v. wasted, wasting 1. To use or expend carelessly or needlessly: squander. 2. To grow or cause to grow gradually thinner or weaker, as from illness. 3. To fail to use, as an opportunity 4. To destroy completely: devastate.

Waste Stream
The total waste material output of a community, region, facility, private residence, etc.

White ledger
Most white office paper in single sheets or continuous forms, including white computer paper, letterhead, white notebook paper and ledger paper.