Industry glossary
Terms you will meet in the documents, systems and scenarios.
Chain of custody
The documented record of every person who has possession of a sample from collection to the laboratory, proving the result belongs to the sample collected.
Contamination rate
The percentage of a load that is not the material the customer agreed to deliver, measured at receival and reported back to the customer.
Environment protection licence
The licence issued by the state regulator that sets the conditions under which a scheduled activity such as resource recovery or composting is permitted to operate.
Leachate
Liquid that drains from stockpiled or composting material and must be collected and prevented from reaching stormwater or groundwater.
Pasteurisation
The stage of composting where the windrow is held at or above 55 degrees for a set period so that pathogens and weed seeds are destroyed.
Scope one and scope two emissions
Scope one emissions come directly from fuel burned and processes on site; scope two emissions come from the electricity purchased.
Value stream map
A diagram of every step, wait and information flow that turns a material into a product, used to find waste and the constraint.
5S
A five step method for organising a work area: sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain.
Standardised work
The documented best current way to do a routine task, showing sequence, timing, safety and quality points, that training and improvement build on.
Circular economy
An approach that keeps materials in use at their highest value through avoidance, reuse, repair, recycling and recovery rather than single use and disposal.