What are waste streams?

Waste streams are like different trains that carry trash from one place to another, and sometimes even to new adventures.

Imagine you have a big bin in your kitchen for food scraps, and another bin by the front door for paper and plastic. Each of those bins is part of a waste stream, they’re like special trains that take different kinds of trash on their own journeys.

A waste stream is just a group of similar things being thrown away together. It could be food scraps going to a compost place, or bottles and cans heading to a recycling center, each one has its own special train track!

Sometimes, one train might have several kinds of trash on it, like paper, plastic, and glass all traveling together, but they’re still part of the same waste stream, just like friends riding the same train to school.

Think about your lunchbox, if you put all your snacks in one container, that’s like a single waste stream. But if you have separate bags for fruit, crackers, and juice boxes, those are different waste streams going on their own little trips!