Green Glossary

A
Acid Rain: Acid Rain is rain water that contains chemicals from industrial processes that are harmful to plant and animal life.
Active Solar.: Active solar is an application, that uses electrical or mechanical equipment (typically pumps and/or fans) to assist in the collection and storage of solar energy for the purpose of heating, cooling (buildings, liquids, or gases), or making electricity.
Alternative Energy: Alternative energy substitutes for traditional, often non-renewable sources of energy such as oil and coal.
Anaerobic: A life or process that occurs in, or is not destroyed by, the absence of oxygen.
Anaerobic Decomposition: Reduction of the net energy level and change in chemical composition of organic matter caused by microorganisms in an oxygen-free environment.

B
Backyard Composting: Diversion of organic food waste and yard trimmings from the municipal waste stream by composting them in one’s yard through controlled decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi into a humus-like product. It is considered source reduction, not recycling, because the composted materials never enter the municipal waste stream.
Biodiesel: A renewable fuel produced from agricultural resources such as vegetable oils.
Biodiversity: Biodiversity is the complex web of all living things that we humans depend on for our economies and our lives.
Biomass: All of the living material in a given area; often refers to vegetation.
Bottle Bill: Proposed or enacted legislation which requires a returnable deposit on beer or soda containers and provides for retail store or other redemption. Such legislation is designed to discourage use of throw-away containers.
Brownfields: Abandoned, idled, or under used industrial and commercial facilities/sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. They can be in urban, suburban, or rural areas.
Bulky Waste: Large items of waste materials, such as appliances, furniture, large auto parts, trees, stumps.

C
Carbon Credit: Carbon credits are components of a tradable permit scheme.
Carbon Footprint: Your carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are directly and indirectly caused by an activity or are accumulated over the life stages of products.
Carbon Neutral: An activity or product is carbon neutral if it has no net greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon Offsets: The act of compensating for greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon Sequestration: A process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through a variety of means of capturing and storing carbon.
Cells: In solid waste disposal, holes where waste is dumped, compacted, and covered with layers of dirt on a daily basis.
Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX): The world’s first and North America’s only, voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil.
Clean Energy: Environmentally friendly sources of energy. Typically, this refers to renewable and nonpolluting energy sources.
Clean Fuels: Blends or substitutes for gasoline fuels, including compressed natural gas, methanol, ethanol, and liquified petroleum gas.
Climate Change (also referred to as ‘global warming’): The term ‘climate change’ is sometimes used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency, but because the Earth’s climate is never static, the term is more properly used to imply a significant change from one climatic condition to another.
Closed-Loop Recycling: Reclaiming or reusing wastewater for non-potable purposes in an enclosed process.
Cogeneration: Cogeneration is a process in which power is produced by a gas-fired engine and generator set. Heat produced as part of this process is used as heating and/or cooling media. A cogeneration plant is often referred to as a combined heat and power plant.
Commercial Waste: All solid waste emanating from business establishments such as stores, markets, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centers, and theaters.
Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL): Small fluorescent lamps used as more efficient alternatives to incandescent lighting. Also called PL, CFL, Twin-Tube, or BIAX lamps.
Composting: The controlled biological decomposition of organic material in the presence of air to form a humus-like material.
Composting Facilities: 1. An offsite facility where the organic component of municipal solid waste is decomposed under controlled conditions; 2.an aerobic process in which organic materials are ground or shredded and then decomposed to humus in windrow piles or in mechanical digesters, drums, or similar enclosures.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): An alternative fuel for motor vehicles; considered one of the cleanest because of low hydrocarbon emissions and its vapors are relatively non-ozone producing. However, vehicles fueled with CNG do emit a significant quantity of nitrogen oxides.
Cradle to Cradle: Cradle to Cradle is the application of environmentally safe materials in the production of goods.
Cradle-to-Grave or Manifest System: A procedure in which hazardous materials are identified and followed as they are produced, treated, transported, and disposed of by a series of permanent, linkable, descriptive documents (e.g. manifests). Commonly referred to as the cradle-to-grave system.
Cullet: Crushed glass.

D
Daylighting: Daylighting is the use of natural light to supplement or replace artificial lighting.
Demand-side Waste Management: Prices whereby consumers use purchasing decisions to communicate to product manufacturers that they prefer environmentally sound products packaged with the least amount of waste, made from recycled or recyclable materials, and containing no hazardous substances.

E
Ecological/Environmental Sustainability: Maintenance of ecosystem components and functions for future generations.
Ecological Impact: The effect that a man-caused or natural activity has on living organisms and their non-living (abiotic) environment.
Ecosystem: The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings.
Embodied Energy: Embodied energy is the total energy used to create a product, including the energy used in mining or harvesting, processing, fabricating, and transporting the product.
Emission: Pollution discharged into the atmosphere from smokestacks, other vents, and surface areas of commercial or industrial facilities; from residential chimneys; and from motor vehicle, locomotive, or aircraft exhausts.
Emission Cap: A limit designed to prevent projected growth in emissions from existing and future stationary sources from eroding any mandated reductions. Generally, such provisions require that any emission growth from facilities under the restrictions be offset by equivalent reductions at other facilities under the same cap.
Emissions Trading: The creation of surplus emission reductions at certain stacks, vents or similar emissions sources and the use of this surplus to meet or redefine pollution requirements applicable to other emissions sources.
End-of-the-pipe: Technologies such as scrubbers on smokestacks and catalytic convertors on automobile tailpipes that reduce emissions of pollutants after they have formed.
Energy Recovery: Obtaining energy from waste through a variety of processes (e.g. combustion).
Environmental stewardship: Environmental stewardship has a number of wide ranging objectives, which include: the protection of water and soil, the prevention of erosion and water pollution, flood management, wildlife conservation, protecting archaeological sites and historic features, providing public access to the countryside and conserving rare traditional livestock breeds and varieties.

F
Food Waste: Uneaten food and food preparation wastes from residences and commercial establishments such as grocery stores, restaurants, and produce stands, institutional cafeterias and kitchens, and industrial sources like employee lunchrooms.
Fossil Fuels: Fossil fuels are fuels found in the earth’s strata that are derived from the fossilized remains of animal and plant matter over millions of years.
Fuel Cell: A fuel cell is an electrochemical device in which hydrogen is combined with oxygen to produce electricity with heat and water vapor as by products.

G
Garbage: Animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking, and serving of foods.
Gasahol: Mixture of gasoline and ethanol derived from fermented agricultural products containing at least nine percent ethanol. Gasohol emissions contain less carbon monoxide than those from gasoline.
Gasification: Conversion of solid material such as coal into a gas for use as a fuel.
Geothermal Energy: Geothermal energy is a form of energy produced through drilling and harvesting heat trapped deep within the earth. Extraction methods include bringing water that has been superheated below ground to the surface, or pumping water deep into the earth to become heated and then pumped out again.
Global Warming: An increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases.
Gray Water: Greywater is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as dish washing, laundry and bathing. Greywater comprises 50-80% of residential wastewater generated from all of the house’s sanitation equipment except for the toilets.
Green Building: Green, or sustainable, building is the practice of creating and using healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition.
Greenhouse Effect: The warming of the Earth’s atmosphere attributed to a buildup of carbon dioxide or other gases; some scientists think that this build-up allows the sun’s rays to heat the Earth, while making the infra-red radiation atmosphere opaque to infra-red radiation, thereby preventing a counterbalancing loss of heat.
Greenhouse Gas: A gas, such as carbon dioxide or methane, which contributes to potential climate change.
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs): Greenhouse gases are components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect, which leads to climate change by warming global temperatures.
Green Washing: The unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, industry, government, person, or a non-governmental organization to create a pro-environmental image, sell a product or a policy, or try to rehabilitate its standing with the public and decision makers.

H
Halogen: A type of incandescent lamp with higher energy-efficiency that standard ones.

I
Incineration: A treatment technology involving destruction of waste by controlled burning at high temperatures; e.g., burning sludge to remove the water and reduce the remaining residues to a safe, non-burnable ash that can be disposed of safely on land, in some waters, or in underground locations.
Industrial Waste: Unwanted materials from an industrial operation; may be liquid, sludge, solid, or hazardous waste.

K
Kinetic Energy: Energy possessed by a moving object or water body.

L
Land Application: Discharge of wastewater onto the ground for treatment or reuse.
Land Farming (of Waste): A disposal process in which hazardous waste deposited on or in the soil is degraded naturally by microbes.
Landfills: 1. Sanitary landfills are disposal sites for non-hazardous solid wastes spread in layers, compacted to the smallest practical volume, and covered by material applied at the end of each operating day. 2. Secure chemical landfills are disposal sites for hazardous waste, selected and designed to minimize the chance of release of hazardous substances into the environment.
Leachate: Water that collects contaminants as it trickles through wastes, pesticides or fertilizers. Leaching may occur in farming areas, feedlots, and landfills, and may result in hazardous substances entering surface water, ground water, or soil.
LEED: LEED is an acronym that refers to the The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System(TM).
Life cycle: Life cycle refers to the process of a product or material beginning with the accumulation of raw materials, then the design, manufacturing process and management of the waste involved in the manufacturing process. It also includes the usable life span of the product and its disposal or recycling.
Low-flow toilets: Low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons of water or less when flushing away waste versus the standard 6-7 gallons.

M
Magnetic Separation: Use of magnets to separate ferrous materials from mixed municipal waste stream.
Mandatory Recycling: Programs which by law require consumers to separate trash so that some or all recyclable materials are recovered for recycling rather than going to landfills.
Manifest: A one-page form used by haulers transporting waste that lists EPA identification numbers, type and quantity of waste, the generator it originated from, the transporter that shipped it, and the storage or disposal facility to which it is being shipped. It includes copies for all participants in the shipping process.
Materials Recovery Facility (MRF): A facility that processes residentially collected mixed recyclables into new products available for market.
Methane: A colorless, nonpoisonous, flammable gas created by anaerobic decomposition of organic compounds. A major component of natural gas used in the home.
Methanol: An alcohol that can be used as an alternative fuel or as a gasoline additive. It is less volatile than gasoline; when blended with gasoline it lowers the carbon monoxide emissions but increases hydrocarbon emissions. Used as pure fuel, its emissions are less ozone-forming than those from gasoline. Poisonous to humans and animals if ingested.
Mixed Metals: Recovered metals not sorted into categories such as aluminum, tin, or steel cans or ferrous or non-ferrous metals.
Mixed Municipal Waste: Solid waste that has not been sorted into specific categories (such as plastic, glass, yard trimmings, etc.)
Mixed Paper: Recovered paper not sorted into categories such as old magazines, old newspapers, old corrugated boxes, etc.
Municipal Solid Waste: Common garbage or trash generated by industries, businesses, institutions, and homes.

N
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): A provision of the Clean Water Act which prohibits discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States unless a special permit is issued by EPA, a state, or, where delegated, a tribal government on an Indian reservation.
Navigable Waters: Traditionally, waters sufficiently deep and wide for navigation by all, or specified vessels; such waters in the United States come under federal jurisdiction and are protected by certain provisions of the Clean Water Act.
Necrosis: Death of plant or animal cells or tissues. In plants, necrosis can discolor stems or leaves or kill a plant entirely.
No Till: Planting crops without prior seedbed preparation, into an existing cover crop, sod, or crop residues, and eliminating subsequent tillage operations.
Non-Point Sources: Diffuse pollution sources (i.e. without a single point of origin or not introduced into a receiving stream from a specific outlet). The pollutants are generally carried off the land by storm water. Common non-point sources are agriculture, forestry, urban, mining, construction, dams, channels, land disposal, saltwater intrusion, and city streets.
Non-potable: Water that is unsafe or unpalatable to drink because it contains pollutants, contaminants, minerals, or infective agents.

O
Office Paper: High grade papers such as copier paper, computer printout, and stationary almost entirely made of uncoated chemical pulp, although some ground wood is used. Such waste is also generated in homes, schools, and elsewhere.
Offsets: A concept whereby emissions from proposed new or modified stationary sources are balanced by reductions from existing sources to stabilize total emissions.

P
Passive Solar: Passive solar is the use of sunlight for energy without the need for mechanical devices. Capturing sunlight in this way can be used to create heat for stored or immediate use, and to create air movement for ventilation.
Pay-As-You-Throw/Unit-Based Pricing: Systems under which residents pay for municipal waste management and disposal services by weight or volume collected, not a fixed fee.
PETE (Polyethylene Terepthalate): (Commonly abbreviated PET, PETE) A thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber.
Plasma Arc Reactors: devices that use an electric arc to thermally decompose organic and inorganic materials at ultra-high temperatures into gases and a vitrified slag residue.

Q
Quality Assurance/Quality Control: A system of procedures, checks, audits, and corrective actions to ensure that all EPA research design and performance, environmental monitoring and sampling, and other technical and reporting activities are of the highest achievable quality.

R
Reclamation: (In recycling) Restoration of materials found in the waste stream to a beneficial use which may be for purposes other than the original use.
Recycle/Reuse: Minimizing waste generation by recovering and reprocessing usable products that might otherwise become waste (.i.e. recycling of aluminum cans, paper, and bottles, etc.).
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs): Also known as Green tags, Renewable Energy Credits, or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities in the United States.

S
Sludge: A semi-solid residue from any of a number of air or water treatment processes; can be a hazardous waste.
Source Reduction: Reducing the amount of materials entering the waste stream from a specific source by redesigning products or patterns of production or consumption (e.g., using returnable beverage containers). Synonymous with waste reduction.
Source Separation: Segregating various wastes at the point of generation (e.g., separation of paper, metal and glass from other wastes to make recycling simpler and more efficient).
Superfund: The program operated under the legislative authority of CERCLA and SARA that funds and carries out EPA solid waste emergency and long-term removal and remedial activities.
Sustainable Development: Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

T
Tailpipe Standards: Emissions limitations applicable to mobile source engine exhausts.
Transfer Station: Facility where solid waste is transferred from collection vehicles to larger trucks or rail cars for longer distance transport.
Trash: Material considered worthless or offensive that is thrown away. Generally defined as dry waste material, but in common usage it is a synonym for garbage, rubbish, or refuse.
Triple Bottom Line: Abbreviated as “TBL” or “3BL”, and also known as “people, planet, profit”.

Green Glossary

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