Waste facts for kids

Waste means things we no longer want or can use. It's any material that gets thrown away after we've used it, or if it's broken and useless. You might also call it trash, garbage, rubbish, or junk.

Waste can be solid, like old food or broken toys. It can be liquid, like dirty water, or even a gas, like smoke from factories. Sometimes, even waste heat is considered a type of waste. We create waste every day in our homes, including old food, paper, broken furniture, and empty containers.

When waste is a liquid or gas, it's often called an emission. These emissions can cause pollution, which harms our environment. Sanitation is about properly handling human waste to keep places clean and healthy.

How We Manage Waste

People have been throwing away waste for thousands of years. Today, in homes and businesses, we usually put garbage into special waste containers. These containers are then emptied, and the waste is taken to places where it can be stored, destroyed, or recycled.

Some materials, like paper, wood, glass, metals, and plastic containers, can be recycled. This means they are processed and turned into new products. Materials that cannot be recycled are often burned in special facilities (this is called incineration) or buried in large areas called landfills.

Composting Organic Waste

Plant matter, such as fruit and vegetable scraps, is biodegradable. This means it can break down naturally over time. These types of waste can be put into a compost pile, where they will decompose fairly quickly. This kind of waste is often called "wet" or "green" waste. Composting helps turn food scraps into rich soil for plants.

Littering

Sometimes, waste isn't put into containers. Instead, it's thrown onto the ground or dumped in random places. This is called littering. Littering makes our communities look messy and can harm animals and the environment.

Related pages

• Toxic waste

Learn more about different types and sources of waste.

Images for kids

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  Waste in a bin

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  Solid waste after being shredded to a uniform size

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  Waste generation, measured in kilograms per person per day.

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  'Waste not the waste' sign in Tamil Nadu, India

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  People who earn their living by collecting and sorting garbage and selling them for recycling (waste pickers), Smokey Mountain, Philippines.

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  Vegetable waste being dumped in a market in Hyderabad

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  Weapon scraps

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  Agobox; Bio-medical Waste

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  Hospital waste

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  Waste collected in a tricycle

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  Shacks and littering by illegal immigrants in South Africa

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  Used cigarette boxes

See also

In Spanish: Basura para niños