Types of garbage

Garbage refers to those materials and products whose owner discards, and can be found in a solid, semi-solid, liquid or gaseous state, contained in containers and in tanks . Its path can be a final disposal treatment or acquire value again with a recycling process.

Trash refers to any useless waste, unwanted material that is intended to be disposed of . However, in some cases it is related to the concept of waste, so the garbage can be reused from its concept or simply left to the last idea with the possibility that objects have to enter new cycles or processes.

A broader concept, then, of garbage refers to any substance or object, in different states (solid, liquid or gaseous) that is subjected to a final disposal or that is recycled.

Of course, there are different types of garbage and here we expose the most important ones.

Types of garbage based on characteristics and origin

Urban Solid Waste Garbage (MSW)

Garbage as urban solid waste is the most typical and known to all, since it refers to household waste , that is, to everything that is considered disposable in domestic activities.

Here we talk about containers, packaging, packaging and various consumer products. Also, of course, we refer to the waste that may come from public roads and other types of establishments, but that still have the characteristics of household garbage. For example, soda bottles from a school.

These types of waste are common, abundant and do not usually have great risks.

Special handling waste garbage (RME)

Garbage as a waste of special handling emphasizes those wastes typical of production processes . Therefore, they do not meet both the characteristics to be considered hazardous waste, but neither are they of daily production as occurs in a home.

This type of waste is abundant, characteristic of large places where, for example, certain foods are produced, but they do not have a toxicity or danger like other examples that we will see below.

Hazardous Waste Garbage (RP)

The advancement of humanity has contracted numerous achievements at the technological level, which are replicated, a priori, in a greater general well-being. However, the diversity of chemical substances that exist today has never been equal, putting significant pressure on both the environment and people’s health.

So if the waste is a right and it was precisely made of this type of complex substances, a meticulous and special treatment is required, since it endangers both the environment and the health of individuals .

But what are the characteristics that make these wastes dangerous or high-risk? Corrosivity, reactivity, explosivity, toxicity, flammability or being toxic-infectious can be mentioned. But, hazardous waste is not only in itself, but also often what it touches, so we must extend it to containers, containers, packaging, soils and sometimes large territories.

All the countries of the world develop efficient systems for the detection and treatment of what is considered a hazardous waste, due to the consequences already mentioned.

Types of garbage based on its composition

Organic waste

Organic waste is those that are composed of organic material, that is, everything that has a biological origin . This type of waste includes food, feces; but also all material that can be decomposed by aerobic microorganisms.

The danger of this kind of waste varies enormously. It is not the same to speak of food, which may simply decompose where it is, than hospital waste, produced in hospitals or laboratories, whose infectious nature is evident.

Finally, its treatment can be incineration, selective waste collection, wastewater treatment (as an aqueous environment); but also various recycling processes.

Inorganic waste

Inorganic wastes are those that do not have a biological origin, but are industrial or artificial . They are products of processes, worth the redundancy. So if the peel of an apple is organic, fabrics or plastics are artificially made materials, therefore they are inorganic.

The dangerousness can vary in this type of waste, but the truth is by its very nature they take a long time to degrade, they do not reintegrate. Some may do so, but after many years, releasing substances that are harmful to health and the environment.

Many of them are recyclable and can be reused in the production and consumption chain.

Dangerous residues

Hazardous waste is usually a type of non-recyclable waste or a type that is harmful due to its characteristics for the environment, individuals and other living beings . Hazardous waste is not only classified as such in itself, but also every container, container and even soil or territory in which it is found.

These have a specific treatment and are subject to various laws. They are flammable, toxic, infectious, carcinogenic, eco-toxic, explosive, etc. Mining tailings, air emissions from smokestacks, industrial spills in surface channels, pesticides, spray, solvents, among others, are good examples.