what is waste material

Waste material refers to any substance that is discarded after primary use, or is considered worthless, defective, or unwanted. This can include a wide range of materials such as product packaging, yard waste, clothing, food scraps, appliances, paints, batteries, and electronic waste. Waste materials can also encompass by-products of production processes, such as fly ash from a furnace. Additionally, materials that are mislabeled or inadequately labeled can also be considered waste. In the context of pavement sustainability, waste materials are those that would normally be sent to a landfill, with the cost of transport and processing being the only source of economic value. When the material has value beyond this, it is no longer considered waste, but instead a co-product.