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Click a link to jump to a particular letter: A-C | D-E | F-G | H-L | M-O | P-Z
  • Abatement - Programs to reduce illegal dumping. This includes re-
    cycling and proper disposal events, education, improved municipal
    waste disposal contracts, etc.
  • Act 101 - PA's Recycling Act: Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling
    and Waste Reduction Act of 1988. The law that requires recycling in
    Pennsylvania and provides for Pennsylvania's Recycling Fund.
  • Act 27 - Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Act.
    The Act that created the Growing Greener program in PA.
  • Act 97 - PA's Solid Waste Management Act of 1980. The law that
    regulates the treatment and disposal of municipal waste, regulating
    landfills.

  • Active site/area - Any area where illegal solid waste activity has
    occurred within the last six months.
  • Adopt-A-Highway Program - PennDOT's adoption program for
    state-maintained roads and highways.
  • Annual meeting - Chapter officers are elected and chapter bylaw
    amendments are considered by the membership at chapter annual
    meetings. Officers and directors of PA CleanWays are elected,
    a budget is adopted, and delegates to the state annual meeting
    consider bylaw changes.
  • Appliances (a.k.a. White Goods) - Household appliances such as
    refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, stoves. Appliances that
    contain freon as a refrigerant-refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners,
    dehumidifiers, and water coolers-must be "decommissioned" (the
    freon properly removed) before recycling or disposal.
  • BCO - Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations. A section
    of the Department of State that administers the state's charitable
    solicitation law and maintains registration and financial information
    of charities.
  • Biosolids (Sewage Sludge) - Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic
    byproducts resulting from wastewater treatment. They are created
    through the transformation of liquid and solid matter using natural
    processes. This transformation involves physical, chemical, biological,
    and heat processes designed to remove water and reduce the levels
    of odor and bacteria in the final biosolids product. When biosolids
    meet state and federal standards, they can be used as fertilizers
    and soil amendments.
  • Bulky Items/Bulky Waste - Items in the waste stream that require
    special handling, such as furniture, appliances and carpeting.
  • C & D Debris - Construction/Demolition waste
  • C2P2 - Community Conservation Partnership Program. A DCNR grant
    program, with funding from several sources, designed to promote
    open space and recreation in PA. PA CleanWays has received
    funding that includes cleanups of illegal dumps in these areas.
  • COG - Council of Governments. "A voluntary association of local
    government units joined together under a written compact to
    improve cooperation, coordination and planning. . . .By mutual
    agreement, the members seek solutions to mutual problems. A COG
    is an informal council. . . .COGs do not have the power to legislate
    or levy taxes." From Township Supervisor's Handbook, DCED.
  • Commercial Waste - Waste generated by non-manufacturing and
    non-processing businesses.
  • Community - People sharing a common interest or goal who may
    or may not be defined by geographic boundaries.
  • Compostable Materials - Materials that will biodegrade and can
    be composted. They include most yard wastes, food wastes from
    vegetables and fruit and materials such as hair clippings, feathers,
    straw, livestock manure, bonemeal and bloodmeal. Materials should
    NOT be composted if they promote disease, cause odors, attract
    pests, or create other nuisances. Some compostable materials
    should be composted only in limited quantities. Lists of materials
    are available on the DEP website.
  • Composting - The process by which organic solid waste is
    biologically decomposed under controlled anaerobic or aerobic
    conditions to yield a humus-like product.
  • Composting Facility - A facility using land for processing of
    municipal waste by composting. The term includes the areas where
    composting actually occurs, as well as all of the rest of the facility
    where the land surface has been disturbed as a result of or
    incidental to operation of the facility. It does not include a facility
    for composting that is located where the waste was generated.

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  • DCED - Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic
    Development. This department provides local government services
    and support for building better communities, as well as promoting
    economic development in the Commonwealth.
  • DCNR - Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural
    Resources. DCNR manages state parks and state forest lands;
    provides information on the state's ecological and geologic resources;
    and establishes community conservation partnerships with grants
    and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local
    parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space, and
    natural areas.
  • DEP - Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection. The
    agency largely responsible for administering Pennsylvania's environ-
    mental laws and regulations.
  • Deterrent - A strategy to prevent or discourage illegal dumping at
    a site. Physical deterrents can include earthen berms, fences,
    trees, etc.
  • DOT - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
  • EFP - Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania. An organization that
    promotes workplace campaigns to solicit donations to environmental
    organizations, similar to the United Way. GreenWorks TV is also a
    project of the EFP. PA CleanWays is an EFP member.
  • EIN - Employer Identification Number. A federal tax identification
    number, assigned by the IRS, equivalent to an individual's social
    security number.
  • Electronic waste - includes computers, monitors, TVs, audio
    equipment and other electronic devices. Electronic equipment
    contains metals that, if not properly managed or contained, can
    become hazardous wastes, including mercury, lead and cadmium.
  • EPA - Environmental Protection Agency. The federal agency
    responsible for developing and enforcing environmental regulations
    based on federal law.

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  • FLBP - Forest Lands Beautification Program. A five-year grant
    program funded by DCNR through which PA CleanWays is
    cleaning up and abating illegal dumping in state parks and forests.
  • Form 990 (or Form 990-EZ) - IRS forms, Return of Organization
    Exempt From Income Tax, for tax reporting.
  • Form 990-T - IRS form, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax
    Return, for reporting unrelated business income.
  • Freon - A trademark for a variety of nonflammable gaseous or liquid
    fluorinated hydrocarbons employed primarily as working fluids in
    refrigeration and air conditioning. To reduce emissions of green
    house
    gas that impact the environment, freon must be removed by a
    certified technician before the appliance can be recycled or disposed.
    Freon can typically be recycled. A sticker put on the appliance
    indicates it has been "decommissioned."
  • FTP - Fugitive Tire Program.
  • FY - Fiscal Year.
  • Garbage - Some may use the term to refer to food or other odor
    causing wastes, using "rubbish" to refer to non-odor causing trash.
  • GEN - Group Exemption Number. The number assigned to PA
    CleanWays by the IRS, recognizing the tax exemption of PA Clean-
    Ways, Inc. and its chapters. It must be entered on IRS Form 990.
  • GIS - Geographic Information System. Software applications that
    allow users to view and create maps. The maps typically utilize
    various maps as layers superimposed on each other.
  • GPS - Global Positioning System. This is a space-based radio-
    navigation system, consisting of satellites and ground support.
    GPS provides users with accurate information about their position,
    as well as velocity and the time, anywhere and in all weather
    conditions. Using a GPS receiver to obtain coordinates of dump sites
    or adopted roads and areas facilitates mapping by a GIS. GPS
    receivers are available from sporting goods stores and catalogues,
    or ask your Conservation District if the chapter could borrow theirs.

  • Grassroots - People or society at a local level rather than at the
    center of major political activity. Because PA CleanWays works to
    empower local citizens, we are a grassroots organization.
  • Greenway - A corridor of undeveloped land, as along rivers or
    between urban centers, that is reserved for recreational use or
    environmental preservation. Some greenways are trails (on land or
    water), others, such as riparian buffer corridors, are intended for
    environmental protection and are not designed for human use.
  • Groundwater - Water beneath the earth's surface, in saturated
    soil and rock, that supplies wells and springs.
  • Growing Greener - Four state government agencies are responsible
    to help PA communities "grow greener:"
    • DEP provides watershed protection, mine reclamation, oil and
      gas well plugging, technical assistance, new and innovative
      technology grants;
    • DCNR provides open space and recreation grants;
    • PennVest provides wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater
      management grants;
    • PA Dept. of Agriculture (PDA) provides farmland preservation
      grants.

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  • Hauler - A commercial business that hauls solid waste. Roll off
    containers may be used to haul waste.
  • Hazardous Waste - ". . . .Discarded material, including solid,
    liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from
    municipal, commercial, industrial, institutional, mining, or agricultural
    operations, and from community activities; or a combination of the
    above, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical,
    chemical or infectious characteristics may do one of the following: (i)
    Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or
    increase in morbidityin either an individual or the total population.
    (ii) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health
    or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported,
    disposed of or otherwise managed." From PA Code, Chapter 271
  • HHW - Household Hazardous Waste. Waste generated by a house-
    hold that could be chemically or physically classified as a hazardous
    waste. It includes items that are poisonous, corrosive, flammable,
    or an environmental hazard. HHW includes home improvement
    products such as oil-based paints and wood preservatives, lawn
    and garden products such as herbicides and pesticides, automotive
    products such as fuels, used antifreeze and motor oil, household
    products such as drain cleaners, spot removers and mercury
    thermometers.
  • ICW - Infectious/Chemotherapeutic Waste. "Municipal and residual
    waste which is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, immunization
    or autopsy of human beings or animals, in research pertaining
    thereto, in the preparation of human or animal remains for interment
    or cremation, or in the production or testing of biologicals. . . ."
    From PA Code, Chapter 271
  • Illegal Dump Area - Contains larger items such as household waste,
    debris from a business or job, such as remodeling debris, appliances
    or bulky items, or more than 10 tires, whether in a concentrated
    area or scattered along the length of a road or in an area.
  • Inactive Site/Area - Any area where illegal solid waste activity
    has occurred within the last six months.
  • Incinerator - A furnace for burning municipal waste.
  • Industrial Waste - Waste generated by an industrial establishment,
    other than the waste generated from industrial processes (from
    break rooms, offices, etc.), defined as Municipal Solid Waste in
    Pennsylvania. Waste from industrial processes is "Residual" or
    "Hazardous" waste in Pennsylvania.
  • INS - Immigration and Naturalization Service. Requires Form I-9
    be filled out by all employees.
  • IRS - Internal Revenue System. Provides PA CleanWays' federal
    tax-exempt status; requires various returns.
  • Landfill (Sanitary Landfill) - A method of disposing solid waste
    in which refuse is buried between layers of dirt. Modern landfills in
    Pennsylvania must have an additional double-liner system, collect
    and treat leachate, and collect or burn gases produced. Landfills
    are regulated by DEP based on Act 97.
  • Leachate/Leaching - Leaching in a landfill is the action of
    percolating water as it removes soluble or other constituents from
    the buried trash. Leachate is the solution containing contaminants.
  • Lead Acid Battery - A vehicle battery that contains lead plates
    and acid. Because of their hazard and the potential for pollution,
    they should be recycled.
  • Littered Area - Contains small, scattered items, with no more than
    10 tires and three or four larger items, such as furniture or
    appliances, bags of trash, etc. per mile of road or in an equivalent
    area.
  • Lobbying - Engaging in trying to influence legislators or other
    public officials in favor of a specific cause.

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  • Match - Amount of value from another source that may be required
    by a grant. A grantor may require a cash match, or may accept the
    value in in-kind services. The percent match required by grantors
    varies.
  • MRF - Materials Recovery Facility (Recycling Center), a specialized
    plant where recyclable materials are separated, processed and
    stored. Residual material is disposed, normally in a landfill.
  • MSW - Municipal Solid Waste. "Garbage, refuse, industrial lunchroom
    or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid
    or contained gaseous material resulting from operation of residential,
    municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from
    community activities; and sludge not meeting the definition of
    residual or hazardous waste under this section from a municipal,
    commercial or institutional water supply treatment plant, waste
    water treatment plant or air pollution control facility." From PA Code,
    Chapter 271
  • Municipal Waste Management Plan (County Plan) - Act 101
    requires that each county develop and submit to DEP a plan to:
    1. Ensure that each county has sufficient processing and disposal
      capacity for its municipal waste for at least 10 years.
    2. Ensure a full, fair and open discussion of alternative methods of
      municipal waste processing or disposal.
    3. Ensure maximum feasible waste reduction and recycling of
      municipal waste or source separated recyclable material.
    4. Shift the primary responsibility for developing and implementing
      municipal waste management plans from municipalities to counties.
    5. Conserve resources and protect the public health, safety and
      welfare from the short- and long-term dangers of transportation, processing, treatment, storage and disposal of municipal waste.

    Each county must form an Advisory Committee. The committee shall
    review the plan during its preparation, make suggestions and propose
    changes it believes appropriate.
  • Municipality - Every Pennsylvanian lives in a county and municipality
    - a city, borough, township, or home-rule municipality. "The various
    municipal units share the same basic responsibilities with respect to
    the provision of public services at the local level and have similar
    statutory powers, for the most part . . .The main areas of local
    services include police and fire protection, maintenance of local
    roads and streets, water supply, sewage collection and treatment,
    parking and traffic control, local planning and zoning, parks and
    recreation, garbage collection, health services, libraries, licensing
    of businesses and code enforcement." (From Pennsylvania Manual.)
  • Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution - Unlike pollution from an
    industrial and sewage treatment plant pipe, nonpoint source pollution
    comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall
    or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff
    moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made
    pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands,
    coastal waters, and even underground.
  • Non-renewable Resources - Resources that cannot be
    regenerated, such as the fossil fuels oil and coal.
  • NRC - National Recycling Coalition. The national equivalent of PROP.
  • NTT - National Tree Trust. A nonprofit organization that supplies
    seedling trees to PA CleanWays for out planting by volunteers
    on public lands. It is supported by the forest industry and other
    sponsors.
  • OCC - Old Corrugated Cardboard
  • ONP - Old Newsprint
  • Open Burning - The burning of trash by a resident. An EPA report
    published in November 1997 shows that a single household burn
    barrel may emit as much toxic chemicals as a well-controlled
    municipal incinerator.

  • OYEL - Open Your Eyes to Litter. A series of educational resources,
    including activity books, developed by PA CleanWays.

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  • "Packer" Truck (Compactor) - A typical garbage truck that
    compacts the trash.
  • PACW (or PA CW) - PA CleanWays.
  • PAEE - Pennsylvania Alliance for Environmental Education. A
    nonprofit that promotes and supports environmental education.
  • PCEE - Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education. A center
    at Slippery Rock University that provides resources for environmental
    education, including the Essentials of EE, and EE and the Media.
  • PEC - PA Environmental Council. PEC promotes sustainable land and
    resource use, works to protect watersheds and find innovative
    solutions to environmental problems. As a partner with PA Clean-
    Ways, Inc. in the FLBP, PEC facilitated local community groups,
    helping them identify strategies to abate illegal dumping.
  • PennDOT (DOT) - Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
    Each county has an adoption coordinator for the Adopt-A-Highway
    program for state-maintained roads.
  • PMP - Per Member Payment. PA CleanWays' state bylaws
    provide for a percent of membership dues that chapters share with
    the home office to sustain it. This fee has been waived by a vote
    at the Annual Meeting in recent years.
  • Point Source Pollution - Pollution from a single source, as from
    industry.
  • POWR - Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers. A
    nonprofit organization that works to empower local watershed
    organizations. POWR produces resources also of value to PA Clean-
    Ways chapters.
  • PRC - Pennsylvania Resources Council. A nonprofit organization with
    efforts in waste reduction and recycling; sponsor of the Litterbug.
  • PROP - Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania. PROP promotes
    recycling in Pennsylvania through education, information exchange,
    technical support, applied research and coordination of recycling
    industry initiatives. They provide training on recycling topics. As a
    partner with PA CleanWays in the FLBP, they have provided
    technical assistance to municipalities, promoting local programs to
    abate illegal dumping. The PROP website is a good source of
    information on current legislation of interest.
  • RCRA - Resource Conservation & Recovery Act. RCRA is an
    amendment to the 1976 federal Solid Waste Disposal Act. The goals
    of RCRA are to:
    • Ensure that wastes are managed in an environmentally sound
      manner.
    • Protect human health and the environment from the potential
      hazards of waste disposal.
    • Conserve energy and natural resources.
    • Reduce the amount of waste generated.
    RCRA has three programs: Hazardous Waste, Solid Waste, and
    Underground Storage Tank Programs.
  • Recycling, Mandatory - Municipalities in Pennsylvania with a
    population of 5000 or more and a population density of more than
    300 per square mile are required by Act 101 to provide a curbside
    recycling program for at least three items.
  • Recycling, Voluntary - Programs in municipalities with a population
    of less than 5000 or a population density of less than 300 per square
    mile, either curbside or drop-off, which are not mandated by Act 101.
  • Renewable Resources - Resources that are not used up, i.e., solar,
    wind, and hydroelectric energy.
  • Residential Waste - Waste from a residential source, it is
    technically Municipal Solid Waste.
  • Refuse - Trash or waste. Waste haulers are often listed as Refuse
    Haulers in phone books.
  • Residual Waste - "Garbage, refuse, other discarded material or
    other waste, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous
    materials resulting from industrial, mining and agricultural operations;
    and sludge from an industrial, mining or agricultural water supply
    treatment facility, wastewater treatment facility or air pollution
    control facility, if it is not hazardous. . . ." From PA Code, Chapter
    271

  • Robert's Rules - Robert's Rules of Order, the most commonly used
    parliamentary rules for meeting procedures. Chapters usually use
    Robert's Rules in their business meetings. Parliamentary order is
    designed to enable groups, with regard for every member's opinion;
    to arrive at the general will efficiently.
  • Rolloff (a.k.a. Rolloff Box or Rollback) - Steel boxes frequently
    used to haul waste that roll off and onto a transporting truck. A
    door on one end swings open to empty (or load) the trash. They
    come in various sizes from 10 cubic yards to 40 cubic yards, though
    30 and 40 cu. yd. rolloffs are most common.
  • Rubbish - The non-odor causing components of municipal waste.
  • Sustainable/Sustainability - Able to be maintained. The term is
    used to describe types of agriculture, communities, development,
    the economy, and is used in conjunction with living and even
    governing (sustainably). Many programs to promote sustainability
    can be found on the Internet.
  • SWA - Solid Waste Authority. Solid Waste Authorities are special
    governmental units set up to perform specific services. Most are
    county entities, governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the
    County Commissioners, which provide recycling and adequate, proper
    disposal of solid waste. Not all counties have solid waste authorities.
    Authorities differ, but they often own and operate landfills, recycling
    facilities and/or hauling services. Many offer educational programs.
    Authorities in Pennsylvania are authorized to acquire, construct,
    improve, maintain and operate projects, and to borrow money and
    issue bonds to finance them.
  • Tipping Fee - The cost of disposing a ton of trash in a landfill.
    Counties and municipalities may impose fees as part of the tipping
    fee in order to maintain roads, regulation, etc. These are called
    "host municipality benefit fees," or, simply, host municipality fees.
  • TPD - Tons per day
  • TPY - Tons per year
  • Transfer Station - A place where trash is transferred for hauling
    to the appropriate recycler or landfill. Transfer Stations are
    permitted and regulated by DEP, and are frequently difficult and
    expensive to permit.
  • Used Motor Oil - Waste motor oil frequently from vehicles, lawn-
    mowers, farm equipment etc. is regulated by DEP under Chapter 298
    of the Solid Waste Management Act. The Act regulates collection,
    transportation, processing and refining, waste oil burners,
    marketers and larger generators. DEP maintains a list of used oil
    collection sites, with instructions for the recycler.
  • Waters of the Commonwealth - "Rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets,
    impound
    ments, ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, dammed
    water, wetlands, ponds, springs and other bodies or channels of
    conveyance of surface and underground water, or parts thereof,
    whether natural or artificial, within or on the boundaries of this
    Commonwealth." Even spills into storm sewers constitute
    polluting Pennsylvania's waters. From PA Code, Title 25, Chapter
    102.1.
  • Watershed - The region draining into a river, river system, or
    other body of water. Pennsylvania has recently focused considerable
    attention on watershed restoration and organized much
    environmental management by watershed. Growing Greener grants
    fund watershed-based planning and projects.
  • Weigh Slip - Used to document tons of trash removed during a
    cleanup, it is provided by landfills or recycling facilities and gives
    the weight of the filled truck, the empty truck and the difference,
    which is the weight of the trash.
  • West Nile Virus - West Nile encephalitis is a new disease caused
    by the West Nile virus transmitted by infected mosquitoes from
    birds, the primary host of the disease. Penn State University
    Extension says that severe illness and even death are caused by
    West Nile virus in some, but most people who are infected with the
    virus have no symptoms or may experience mild illness such as fever,
    headache, body aches, mild skin rash, or swollen lymph glands.

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