ACORD Automotive Consortium on Recycling and Disposal
ACORN Affiliated Cooking Oil Reclaimers Nationwide
AD Anaerobic digestion: processing organic waste in the absence of oxygen
ARROW Associated Reclaimers and Recyclers of Oil Waste
BATNEEC Best Available Technique (or Technology) Not Entailing Excessive Cost
BOSCA British Oil Spill Control Association
BPEO Best Practicable Environmental Option
BSE Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
BST Bovine Somatotropin synthetic growth hormone injected into cows to raise milk yields.
C & I Commercial and Industrial
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
CC County Council
CCA Climate Change Agreement - an agreement between industry and DEFRA on energy efficiency
CCL Climate Change Levy - a tax on the use of energy
CFCs Chlorofluorocarbons, a group of semi-inert gases derived from the hydrocarbons methane and ethane, which liquefy easily. see sections 44,45
CHP Combined Heat and Power - plant generating both heat and power (usually electricity) in a single process.
CJD Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
CO2 Carbon dioxide - produced by burning carbon, and absorbed by plants. The best known greenhouse gas, used as an international standard to gauge and reduce climate change. Greenhouse gases absorb and reflect infrared radiation from the sun, heating the earth's atmosphere. The other principal greenhouse gases are water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and some halocarbons.
CRA Chemical and Oil Recycling Association
CRI Chemical Release Inventory
CVS Council for Voluntary Service
DEFRA Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs see section 610
DfT Department for Transport see section 610
DTI Department of Trade and Industry see section 610
EA Environment Agency - 'environment police' who check rivers, sea, beaches, air and soil to ensure they are free from pollution. They enforce laws and rules to stop pollution, and can take companies and individuals to court for breaking these laws. www.environment-agency.gov.uk
EC European Community - made up of the majority of European countries, which have to follow mutual rules and work together. All EC countries have to put an EC Directive (a law) into their own legal system.
EEDA East of England Development Agency
EfW Energy from waste - usually refers to incineration of waste, part of which can generate electricity. There are concerns about health from emissions, about the concentrated toxic waste that remains after burning, and that reusable or recyclable materials may be diverted to incineration.
ELV End-of-Life Vehicles
EMAS Eco Management and Audit Scheme
EPA The Environmental Protection Act 1990: a major piece of waste legislation, which has had subsequent additions and amendments. Also the US Environmental Protection Agency.
ESA The Environmental Services Association
EU European Union
FoE Friends of the Earth
FSA Food Standards Agency
FSC Forestry Stewardship Council
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GM Genetically Modified
HDPE High Density Polyethylene see section 420
HHW Household Hazardous Waste
HWD Hazardous Waste Directive
HWRC Household Waste Recycling Centre
IAEA International Atomic Energy Authority
ICER Industry Council for Electronic and Electrical Equipment Recycling
INCPEN Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPPC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
ISO International Standards Organisation
LARAC Local Authority
Recycling Advisory Committee see section 160
LATS Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/localauth/lats
LAWDC Local Authority Waste Disposal Company
LCA Life Cycle Analysis
LDPE Low Density Polyethylene see section 420
LEAP Local Environmental Action Plan (Environment Agency)
LGA Local Government Association
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LTCS Landfill Tax Credit Scheme
MAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now defunct)
MCA Municipal Collection Authority
MRF Materials Reclamation (or Recycling, or Recovery) Facility, where (usually dry) materials are sorted before delivery to recycling companies (reprocessors)
'Dirty MRF', a facility which tries to reclaim material from mixed solid waste.
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MWLP Minerals and Waste Local Plan
NAMAS National Measurement Accreditation Service
NGO Non-Government Organisation
NISP National Industrial Symbiosis Programme see section 610
NOx Nitrogen oxides - produced when fuel is combusted and reacts with nitrogen. Powerful greenhouse gas.
ODPM Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
ORA Oil Recycling Association see section 61
OFWAT Office of Water Services
PCB Printed Circuit Board or Polychlorinated Biphenol
PAH Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (see hydrocarbons)
PAMs Trade acronym for 'periodicals and magazines': hence 'news and pams'.
PET Polyethylene terephthalate see section 420
PFI Private Finance Initiative
PP Polypropylene see section 420
PPC Pollution Prevention and Control - an EC Directive applicable to industry
PPG Parliamentary Planning Guidance, or Planning Policy Guidance
PPP Public Private Partnership
PRN Packaging waste Recovery Note from a company that recycles (reprocesses) packaging, recording the weight of material recycled. Under Packaging Waste Regulations, companies (or compliance schemes) buy PRNs as evidence of recycling.
PS Polystyrene see section 420
PVC Polyvinyl chloride
R & D Research and Development
RAS Radioactive Substances
RCEP Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
REMADE Recycled Market Development
RIMNET Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network
RDF Refuse Derived Fuel
RoHS Restricting the use of Hazardous Substances - EU directive controlling use of hazardous substances during manufacture.
RPG Regional Planning Guidance
RSA Radioactive Substances Act
RTAB Regional Technical Advisory Body (waste planning)
SEEDA South East of England Development Agency
SERPLAN South East Regional Planning Conference
SMEs Small to Medium Enterprises
SO2 Sulphur dioxide, produced from sulphur in fuel during combustion. Also produced naturally by volcanoes. Contributes to acidification of lakes, sea and soil.
SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest - an area protected for biodiversity
SWQO Statutory Water Quality Objective
UN United Nations
VOCs Volatile organic compounds - a special waste category. Contain carbon which evaporates easily. Involved in formation of ground level ozone and depletion of the ozone layer. Petroleum and most organic solvents are VOCs.
WCA Waste Collection Authority
WDA Waste Disposal Authority
WEEE Waste
Electronic and Electrical Equipment - much delayed EU Directive controlling disposal and
percentage going to landfill.
WHO World Health
Organisation
WPA Waste Planning Authority
WRAP Waste Resources Action Programme see section 50 and others
WTO World Trade Organisation
Recommended - to help understand acronyms, jargon and technical
phrases, mainly in the public sector
http://society.guardian.co.uk/glossary
(Updated Sep 2005)