INDEX:
1. things that you throw away because you do not want them
RELATED WORDS
to throw rubbish away : ↑ GET RID OF
to be very bad : ↑ BAD (1)
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1. things that you throw away because you do not want them
▷ rubbish /ˈrʌbɪʃ/ [uncountable noun] British
all the paper, empty bottles, cans, pieces of food etc that you throw away :
▪ The dustmen collect the rubbish on Wednesdays.
▪ There was rubbish and broken glass all over the grass.
put/take out the rubbish
put it in a rubbish bin outside your house ready to be collected
▪ Don’t forget to put the rubbish out before you go to bed.
a rubbish bin
a container for rubbish
▪ Two stolen paintings have been found dumped in a rubbish bin.
rubbish dump/tip
a large open area where people’s rubbish is taken after it is collected
▪ I rescued this table from a rubbish dump.
▷ garbage/trash /ˈgɑːʳbɪdʒ, træʃ/ [uncountable noun] American
all the paper, empty bottles, cans, pieces of food etc that you throw away :
▪ There were piles of trash in the backyard.
take out the garbage/trash
put it in a garbage can outside your house ready to be collected
▪ I do all the chores, from picking up the groceries to taking out the garbage.
garbage/trash can
a container for garbage
▪ Will someone please empty this trash can!
garbage truck
a truck that takes away garbage
▪ Ken drives a garbage truck for a living.
▷ waste paper /weɪst ˈpeɪpəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
paper that you throw away, especially because it has been used :
▪ There are two bins. One is for glass and one is for waste paper.
waste paper bin British /waste paper basket
American
▪ She crumpled the letter up and put it in the waste paper basket.
▷ litter /ˈlɪtəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
empty bottles, packets, and pieces of paper that people have dropped on the street or in a park :
▪ These streets are full of litter.
drop litter
▪ You can be fined £100 for dropping litter.
pick up litter
▪ I am tired of picking up litter thrown by other people.
litter bin British /litter basket
American a container for litter
▪ a picnic area with large wooden tables and litter bins
▷ refuse /ˈrefjuːs/ [uncountable noun] formal
all the things that are regularly thrown away from the houses, shops etc in an area :
▪ Heaps of decaying refuse littered every street.
refuse collection
▪ Refuse collection has been seriously affected by the strike.
refuse disposal
destroying or burying refuse
▪ We are gradually developing safer and more effective methods of refuse disposal.
household/domestic refuse
refuse from houses
▪ facilities for recycling household refuse
▷ waste /weɪst/ [uncountable noun]
useless materials which are left over, especially after an industrial process, and which must be thrown away :
▪ Too much waste has been dumped into the North Sea.
industrial/chemical/nuclear waste
▪ Industrial waste had leaked into the water supply.
radioactive/toxic/hazardous waste
▪ The government has announced a ban on all imports of toxic waste from abroad.
waste disposal
destroying or burying waste
▪ The costs of waste disposal are rising all the time.