Inorganic waste is a type of waste that does not contain

organic compounds In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The s ...

. This waste is generally very difficult to decompose by

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

. Glass, aluminum cans, dust, and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

are some examples of inorganic waste. Inorganic waste remains free from decay, with more than 500 years needed being common for effective decomposition, therefore disposal can be challenging. Reducing consumption, reusing, and recycling are possible solutions for coping with this type of waste.

References

{{reflist, 30em Waste