Green Glossary – W

Waste
Unwanted materials left over from a manufacturing process.
Waste Coal
The low-energy-value discards of the coal mining industry. Waste coal is called "culm" in the eastern Pennsylvania anthracite coal region and "gob" or "boney" in the bitiminous coal mining regions (western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere). Waste coal piles accumulated mostly between 1900 and 1970.
Waste Load Allocation
The maximum load of pollutants each discharger of waste is allowed to release into a particular waterway.
Waste Minimization
Measures or techniques that reduce the amount of wastes generated during industrial production processes.
Waste Recycling
A method of recovering waste to use them as resource materials. It involves the reuse of wastes or the collection and treatment of a waste product for use as a replacement of all or part of the raw material in the manufacturing process.
Waste Reduction
Using source reduction, recycling, or composting to prevent or reduce waste generation.
Waste Stream
The total flow of solid waste from homes, businesses, institutions, and manufacturing plants that is recycled, burned, or disposed of in landfills, or segments thereof such as the “residential waste stream” or the “recyclable waste stream.”
Waste Treatment
Subjecting waste substances to physical, chemical, biological or thermal processes at a location off the facility site prior to final disposal.
Waste Wood
A term used, particularly in the UK, to describe wood refuse that typically comes from packaging, construction and demolition.
Waste-to-Energy Facility/Municipal-Waste Combustor
Facility where recovered municipal solid waste is converted into a usable form of energy, usually via combustion.
Water Cycle
Involves the circulation, recycling and conservation of the earth's water which is crucial to sustaining all forms of life in the planet.
Water Filter
Water filters remove contaminants from untreated water through the use of a granular bed of sand or other suitable media that retains the contaminants while permitting the water to pass through.
Water Filtration
A type of physical process used to remove impurities from water to make it suitable for consumption.
Water Pollution
The contamination of water with chemicals or other foreign substances that can harm the health of humans, animals and plants.
Water Softener
Water softeners remove calcium and magnesium from hard water by replacing the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions.
Water Solubility
The maximum concentration of a chemical compound which can result when it is dissolved in water.
Water Table
The level of ground water or the upper surface of the zone of saturation of groundwater above an impermeable layer of soil or rock (through which water cannot move) as in an unconfined aquifer.
Watershed
A region or area over which water flows into a lake, reservoir, stream, or river. Ecologists define it as "an area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials to a common outlet."
Wave Dragon
An ocean wave energy-harnessing technology currently being used in Denmark. The Wave Dragon machine is a floating, slack-moored energy converter that can be deployed in a single unit or in arrays of Wave Dragon units resulting in a power plant with a capacity comparable to traditional fossil based power plants.
Wave Energy
Power derived from forces produced by ocean waves. Waves are caused by the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean. In many parts of the world, the wind blows with enough consistency and force to provide continuous waves. Wave power devices can extract energy from the surface motion of these waves as well as from pressure fluctuations below their surface.
Weathering
Action of the wind, waves, and water on a substance, such as rock, frost or even oil, that leads to disintegration or deterioration of the substance.
Weed
Any unwanted plant that is considered a nuisance, unsightly, or limits the growth of other plants by blocking light or using up nutrients from the soil.
Wet Mill
An ethanol production facility in which the corn is first steeped in water before processing.
Wetlands
Rich land habitats saturated by surface or ground water, often abundant in plant and animal life. Marshes or swamps, shallow lakes, coasts, estuaries and flood plains are examples of wetland habitats.
White Roofs
Also known as "cool roofs," white roofs are painted in a light color in order to reflect the sun's rays and help keep buildings cooler when the weather is hot.
Wilderness
Natural land habitat that remains in basically undisturbed condition, with very few to hardly any trace of human activities.
Wildlife Refuge
Undisturbed habitat set aside to protect certain species of fish or wildlife. In the US, a wildlife refuge is administered at the federal level by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wind Farm
A cluster of wind turbines used to harness power for producing electricity.
Wind Turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy that can be used to drive equipment such as pumps.
Windrow Composting
Windrow composting spreads organic materials into long, semi-circle shaped piles which are mechanically turned using heavy equipment to maintain even decomposition.
World Commission on Protected Areas or WCPA
A global network of scientists and experts on habitat protection administered by the IUCN Program on Protected Areas.
World Health Organization or WHO
The United Nations organization responsible for global health matters, leading health research agenda, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
World Heritage Site
An area that is recognized for its natural or cultural significance in the international community.
World Wildlife Fund or WWF
One of the world's leading conservation organizations, the WWF network spans 100 countries, supported by more than 6 million members worldwide.
Worm Bin
Like a compost bin, a worm bin is used as a repository for food scraps and other organic waste materials to be converted into organic fertilizer.