Glossary and abbreviations

All the operations involved in collecting waste and channeling it to a transfer or sorting center, incineration plant or landfill.

A refuse collector or public sanitation worker who collects household or specific waste.

(or energy recovery facilities) Waste incineration plants that have an energy recovery system to generate electricity or supply a heating utility.

All the techniques used to collect, transport and treat the wastewater and storm water of a municipality, industrial plant or privately owned plot of land before returning it to the environment, as well as to treat the sludge generated by wastewater treatment.

Receives and treats wastewater generated by households (and industry) connected to the collection system, together with storm water (in combined systems). The plant discharges water into the natural environment after treatment to make it compliant with limits set by the authorities. The treatment also produces a residue known as sludge.

(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Electrical and electronic equipment accounts for an increasing amount of the waste managed by cities. It consists of brown (TV sets, radios, phones, etc.), white (appliances, etc.) and gray (IT) products. The quantity of WEEE is growing constantly. Electronic waste can harm the environment if it is not adequately treated first.

A professional term to describe the action of arranging waste to be composted into long, high rows (windrows) in order to facilitate its decomposition.