What is rubbish?

What is rubbish?

Dictionary definitions of ‘rubbish’ typically include phrases like ‘ material that is considered unimportant or valueless’ or ‘objects no longer needed, and thrown away’.

Within the Waste Industry ('waste' being another word for rubbish), the official definition comes from European Union legislation (EU Waste Framework Directive) as ‘ any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’.

The word ‘rubbish’ is not just used for waste. It is also commonly used to describe something that is not very good, such as a rubbish film / book or idea. This negative association can make it hard to persuade people to get excited about recycling who may automatically associate ‘rubbish’ with a worthless or pointless activity.

Whilst the dictionary definition refers to rubbish as ‘considered valueless’, the industry definition refers simply to the object being ‘discarded’. Some types of rubbish are very valuable.

In this country, rubbish is spit into different categories so that different ‘waste’ types can be monitored. This also means that any recycling targets are reported correctly. The construction and demolition industry for example, has a target to recycle 70% of the total waste produced by 2020; the target for households is 50%.

The figures in brackets show these categories as a % of total waste produced in this country.

Household waste (11%)                                    

What is it?  - Waste collected from our houses, recycling centres, streets and litter bins.

Commercial and industrial waste (25%)          

What is it? - Waste from shops and factories

Mining and quarrying  (28%)                           

What is it? - Waste from mining and quarrying processes

Construction and demolition   (36%)                

What is it? - Waste from the construction / demolition industry.

Did you know?

More than 200 buildings were demolished during construction of the 2012 Olympic Park and 97% of the demolition waste created, was recovered and used again!

Whilst household waste only amounts to 11% of total waste in this country, this is actually around 24 million tonnes and approximately 1 tonne per household per year!
 
History of rubbish

Before the industrial revolution (when people began making loads of stuff in new ‘factories’), most rubbish was burnt or buried because it was made up of natural things like wood, bones, pottery, broken tools and bodies! Rotten food, if there was any, was really useful and used for composting or feeding pigs or chickens. During the industrial revolution however, new ‘fancy’ products were made. As populations and business increased, a more organised way of dealing with rubbish was urgently needed as ‘fancy’ things, that couldn’t be composted, began to be produced by the factories.

Despite efforts throughout history, ‘rubbish laws’ were generally ignored and the problem got worse and worse. The breaking point came around the time of severe Cholera outbreaks during the 1840s which killed many thousands of people. This epidemic led to the Public Health Act in 1848 which, among other things, attempted to keep streets clear from piles of rotting rubbish. Rubbish in the streets was thought to have contributed to the contamination of drinking water, which led to the outbreak in the first place. Improvements were slow because of the scale of the job however when the ‘Great Stink’ affected London in 1858, the minds of politicians were quickly focussed because the Houses of Parliament are right next door to the stinking Thames!

A number of solutions to managing rubbish emerged, including, burying it in holes in the ground far away from houses (this idea is the origins of landfill sites today), and perhaps surprisingly advanced for its time, the construction of the first incinerator in 1874 (known as a Destructor!). These efforts were closely followed by another Public Health Act 1875 which, for the first time, forced local authorities to collect rubbish from houses and more importantly, deal with it safely. This act took the responsibility for dealing with rubbish off the householder; although many carried on burning their rubbish.

In 1956 the Clean Air Act was passed to tackle another increasing environmental problem; smog. This act resulted in a reduction in the amount household rubbish being burnt at the time and other polluting industries. Fortunately, this act came at a time when increasingly toxic wastes such as plastics (when burnt) became more common.

Recycling and reusing things is not a new idea. These practices have been part of daily life since time began and usually for purely practical reasons. The ‘environment’ (the thing that keeps us alive) was rarely thought about in the way that it is today. The first official bottle recycling bank did not appear in Britain until 1977 and in Devon, the first recycling bank arrived in Exeter in 1980.

Since these early issues, and as global populations and rubbish have increased, an industry has rapidly developed. The ‘Waste’ Industry is now one of the most heavily regulated and fastest growing industries in the World (big hint for your next career day!). Compared to years ago, we are getting so efficient at dealing with rubbish, if things do go wrong nowadays, we soon know about it. This can remind us just how much rubbish we produce, every day!

What’s in a typical dustbin?

Household rubbish is generally the same, because we all do and buy similar things.

A typical bin will therefore contain approximately;

33%      Kitchen and garden waste,

31%      Paper and card,

11%      Plastic,

9%       Glass,

3%       Metal,

2%       Textiles,

11%      Other.

When does something stop being rubbish?

If something is recycled, there may come a point where it is no longer classed as rubbish.

Why is this important?

Because, if something is classed as rubbish there are a load of rules that mean that it must be handled, treated or reported properly. This costs money. When something is not classed as rubbish, these rules no longer apply.

For something to stop being rubbish;

1) It must be used for a specific purpose.

2) A market must exist for it.

3) It must meet any standards for such a material or product.

4) Its use will not have a negative impact on the environment or human health.


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This website is intended to provide a broad introduction to waste management in Devon, if it doesn’t answer all your waste questions, please contact us via the ‘Ask a question’ page on this site and we will do our best to answer it.