Most activities we carry out in our daily lives produce waste. Waste is defined as ?any substance or object the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard?. There are different types of waste depending on their source, their properties, and the risks they pose to human health and the environment. The common factor between them is that all waste is something we ultimately aim to dispose of, in one way or another.

In order to dispose of waste more effectively there are different options available, as described by the waste hierarchy. This is an inverted pyramid range going from the least sustainable option (both in terms of financial and environmental costs) at the bottom to the most sustainable option at the top, also known as the ?best practical environmental option? (BPEO). Avoiding excess waste such as using less packaging will reduce environmental and financial costs.