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solid waste

(Encyclopedia)solid waste, discarded materials other than fluids. In the United States in 1996, nearly 210 million tons—about 4.3 lb. (2 kg) per person daily (up from 2.7 lb./1.2 kg in 1960)—were collected and ...

waste

(Encyclopedia)waste: see solid waste.

solid

(Encyclopedia)solid, one of the three commonly recognized states in which matter occurs, i.e., that state, as distinguished from liquid and gas, in which a substance has both a definite shape and a definite volume....

toxic waste

(Encyclopedia)toxic waste is waste material, often in chemical form, that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It usually is the product of industry or commerce, but comes also from residential use, agric...

nuclear waste

(Encyclopedia)nuclear waste: see radioactive waste. ...

radioactive waste

(Encyclopedia)radioactive waste, material containing the unusable radioactive byproducts of the scientific, military, and industrial applications of nuclear energy. Since its radioactivity presents a serious health...

solid-state physics

(Encyclopedia)solid-state physics, study of the properties of bulk matter rather than those of the individual particles that compose it. Solid-state physics is concerned with the properties exhibited by atoms and m...

garbage

(Encyclopedia)garbage: see solid waste.

refuse

(Encyclopedia)refuse: see solid waste.

sanitary landfill

(Encyclopedia)sanitary landfill: see solid waste. ...