Biodegradable: Material capable of undergoing biologically mediated decomposition.
Caking: Soil that sticks together in big, compacted lumps. A particular problem with clay soil.
Clay soil: A heavy soil prone to waterlogging and compacting. It can be very fertile and rich in nutrients but roots can have difficulty pushing through it.
Contaminent: Any material harmful to the recycling process when included with recyclable material.
Crumbs: Workable chunks of soil, usually clay.
Friable soil: Workable soil, by hand or by tool, that has a good texture.
Good soil: Retains nutrients - so roots can feed well. Has good texture so roots can pass through without a strain, yet serve as good anchorage. Doesn't drain too quickly or retain water too long so roots can feed without swimming. Warms in early spring and cools slowly through autumn for a maximum growing season.
Humus: Partially decomposed organic matter.
Leaching: The process by which excess water carries away essential minerals from the soil.
Loam: A mixture of large and small soil particles that runs through the fingers. Mole hills are perfect loam.
Mulch: A layer of organic material used to suppress weeds, retain moisture and retain heat. This can include straw, sawdust and bark.
Nitrogen: A common non-metallic element that is normally a colourless, odourless, tasteless, inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78% of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues.
Nutrients: Plants need Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium to survive, in perfect balance. Nitrogen stimulates growth and makes leaves green. Phosphorous is good for seedlings and root systems. Potassium promotes flowers and fruits. Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur are also beneficial in small quantities.
pH balance: The pH of soil measures its acidity or alkalinity, which affects the nutrients available to a plant. Optimum is pH 6.5 but most plants will tolerate pH 5.5-7.5.
Recyclable: This is a term often used loosely, and sometimes misleadingly, on products. For example, just because a product is 'recyclable' does not mean it is environmentally benign. Most products have some environmental impact when the entire lifespan is taken into consideration. Even if a product is technically 'recyclable', collection facilities may not exist in a particular locality.
Recycled content: The term 'recycled' does not mean that a product contains 100% recovered materials. Nor does it mean that a product contains post-consumer materials. Recycled means that a product contains some recovered materials. 'Recycled content' can vary from small percentages of pre-consumer to 100% post-consumer materials.
Recycled feedstock: Material that has been recovered from the waste stream and is suitable for manufacturing new products.
Recycling: The collection and separation of materials from the waste stream and subsequent processing to produce marketable products. Recycling differs from re-use because of the need to process the recovered material to realise its value. The most desirable form of recycling, environmentally and economically, is when the recycling process creates products that are of comparable, or only slightly lowered, quality to the original.
Reprocessing: A fairly general term which is used to cover a range of industrial activities including recycling.
Reuse: Re-use of containers and/or packaging in the original form, either by householders, or via the manufacturer, without reprocessing.
Sandy soil: The opposite of clay soil. Fast draining. Prone to suffer in drought conditions. Leaches easily.
Silt: A good middle soil. A mixture of clay and sand soil.
Source separation/segregation: The separation of individual secondary materials at the point of generation for recycling.
Topsoil: The original definition as 'the original surface layer of grass or cultivated land' is rather redundant nowadays, in a country so built upon as ours. Ironically, most topsoil comes from excavations for new housing developments. Regardless, it is the all important, exposed outer layer of soil and needs constant maintenance.
Waste: Any substance or object which the holder discards or intends to discard is considered as waste (EU Directive 75/442).
Caking: Soil that sticks together in big, compacted lumps. A particular problem with clay soil.
Clay soil: A heavy soil prone to waterlogging and compacting. It can be very fertile and rich in nutrients but roots can have difficulty pushing through it.
Contaminent: Any material harmful to the recycling process when included with recyclable material.
Crumbs: Workable chunks of soil, usually clay.
Friable soil: Workable soil, by hand or by tool, that has a good texture.
Good soil: Retains nutrients - so roots can feed well. Has good texture so roots can pass through without a strain, yet serve as good anchorage. Doesn't drain too quickly or retain water too long so roots can feed without swimming. Warms in early spring and cools slowly through autumn for a maximum growing season.
Humus: Partially decomposed organic matter.
Leaching: The process by which excess water carries away essential minerals from the soil.
Loam: A mixture of large and small soil particles that runs through the fingers. Mole hills are perfect loam.
Mulch: A layer of organic material used to suppress weeds, retain moisture and retain heat. This can include straw, sawdust and bark.
Nitrogen: A common non-metallic element that is normally a colourless, odourless, tasteless, inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78% of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues.
Nutrients: Plants need Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium to survive, in perfect balance. Nitrogen stimulates growth and makes leaves green. Phosphorous is good for seedlings and root systems. Potassium promotes flowers and fruits. Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur are also beneficial in small quantities.
pH balance: The pH of soil measures its acidity or alkalinity, which affects the nutrients available to a plant. Optimum is pH 6.5 but most plants will tolerate pH 5.5-7.5.
Recyclable: This is a term often used loosely, and sometimes misleadingly, on products. For example, just because a product is 'recyclable' does not mean it is environmentally benign. Most products have some environmental impact when the entire lifespan is taken into consideration. Even if a product is technically 'recyclable', collection facilities may not exist in a particular locality.
Recycled content: The term 'recycled' does not mean that a product contains 100% recovered materials. Nor does it mean that a product contains post-consumer materials. Recycled means that a product contains some recovered materials. 'Recycled content' can vary from small percentages of pre-consumer to 100% post-consumer materials.
Recycled feedstock: Material that has been recovered from the waste stream and is suitable for manufacturing new products.
Recycling: The collection and separation of materials from the waste stream and subsequent processing to produce marketable products. Recycling differs from re-use because of the need to process the recovered material to realise its value. The most desirable form of recycling, environmentally and economically, is when the recycling process creates products that are of comparable, or only slightly lowered, quality to the original.
Reprocessing: A fairly general term which is used to cover a range of industrial activities including recycling.
Reuse: Re-use of containers and/or packaging in the original form, either by householders, or via the manufacturer, without reprocessing.
Sandy soil: The opposite of clay soil. Fast draining. Prone to suffer in drought conditions. Leaches easily.
Silt: A good middle soil. A mixture of clay and sand soil.
Source separation/segregation: The separation of individual secondary materials at the point of generation for recycling.
Topsoil: The original definition as 'the original surface layer of grass or cultivated land' is rather redundant nowadays, in a country so built upon as ours. Ironically, most topsoil comes from excavations for new housing developments. Regardless, it is the all important, exposed outer layer of soil and needs constant maintenance.
Waste: Any substance or object which the holder discards or intends to discard is considered as waste (EU Directive 75/442).
