collocations.org

Collocations for waste - noun

1. missing an opportunity to do/use sth

ADJ.

absolute, complete, total, utter
The whole thing has been a complete waste of time.
colossal, great, tremendous | awful, criminal, senseless, shocking, terrible
a criminal waste of public money
needless, unnecessary, useless | tragic
a tragic waste of human life
expensive | conspicuous

VERB + WASTE

go to
If nobody comes all this food will go to waste.
cause | avoid
Try to avoid unnecessary waste.
cut down on, reduce | minimize

PREP.

~ of
a waste of energy/resources

2. unwanted substances/things

ADJ.

dangerous, harmful, hazardous, poisonous, toxic
a dump containing hazardous waste
non-toxic | high-level, intermediate-level, low-level | recyclable | agricultural, commercial, industrial | domestic, household, kitchen
All household waste should be disposed of in strong garbage bags.
clinical, hospital, medical | nuclear, radioactive | chemical | plastic | organic | animal, human | garden, plant | municipal | liquid, solid | food, energy

VERB + WASTE

produce
Tonnes of waste are produced every year.
dispose of, dump, get rid of
More people are dumping waste illegally.
clean up
the highly expensive task of cleaning up toxic waste
burn, incinerate
an incinerator for burning hospital waste
bury, store | process, treat
facilities for processing radioactive waste
recycle, reprocess | deal with, handle, manage
the best solutions for managing waste
cut down on, reduce | eliminate | export, import
Industrialized countries continue to export their waste.

WASTE + VERB

contaminate sth, pollute sth
areas contaminated by industrial waste

WASTE + NOUN

collection | burial, disposal, incineration | storage | processing, recycling, reprocessing, treatment
a waste reprocessing plant
management | minimization, reduction | bin | dump, site, tip
The river was used for years as an industrial waste dump.
outlet, pipe | imports
a ban on waste imports

3. wastes: areas of ground not lived in or cultivated

ADJ.

frozen, icy
the frozen wastes of Antarctica

Collocations for waste - verb

ADV.

(not) entirely, (not) totally
In the end her efforts were not entirely wasted.
just, simply
You''re just wasting your breath. She never listens.
largely

VERB + WASTE

can''t afford to, not want to
He didn''t want to waste valuable time in idle gossip.
be/seem a shame to
It seems a shame to waste this good food.
not be going to
I''m not going to waste any more time on the problem.

PREP.

on
Don''t waste your money on a hotel room.

PHRASES

no time to waste
Hurry up - there''s no time to waste!

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