Plastic Mechanical Recycling Glossary

A 22 terms

A-weighted scale (A-weighting, dB(A)) — The A-weighted scale, written dB(A), is a frequency weighting applied to sound measurements so they reflect how the…
AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectrometry) — AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy) is a laboratory technique that measures lead, arsenic, nickel and other heavy…
acoustic enclosure (acoustic hood, sound enclosure) — An acoustic enclosure is a sound-insulating structure built around noisy equipment, most commonly a diesel generator…
Adsorption — A surface phenomenon where molecules from a gas or liquid bind to the surface of a solid material without penetrating…
aggregator (scrap aggregator (in waste context), waste aggregator) — In India's waste sector, an aggregator is an intermediary that consolidates dry recyclables from multiple kabadiwalas…
Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (Air Act, Air Act 1981) — The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 is the central Indian law that established the framework for…
Air Act (Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Air Pollution Act India) — The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 is India's primary law for controlling industrial air…
Air classifier (air separation, zig-zag classifier) — An air classifier separates materials by density using an upward air stream, dividing lightweight fractions…
air ejection (air ejection, air ejector) — The actuation mechanism in every optical sorter — a row of high-speed solenoid valves that fire precisely timed…
Alpha emitter (alpha emitter, alpha-emitting radionuclide) — An alpha emitter is a radioactive material that releases alpha particles (helium nuclei) when it decays. The effluent…
alternator (AC generator, genset alternator) — An alternator is the electrical machine that converts the mechanical rotation of an engine into alternating-current…
Ambient Air Quality (ambient air, AAQ) — Ambient air quality is the quality of air in the open environment that people, plants and animals actually breathe in…
ambient noise standards (ambient noise standard, noise standards) — Ambient noise standards are the legal maximum noise levels, measured in dB(A), that an area must stay within. In…
Ammoniacal nitrogen (ammonia nitrogen, NH3-N) — Ammoniacal nitrogen is ammonia-nitrogen (as N) dissolved in water. The inland surface water, public sewers and marine…
Annexure-I (Annexure-I, Annexure I) — Annexure-I is a schedule appended to the effluent discharge standards specifying additional parameters and conditions…
Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMCs) (Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMCs), AMC) — An Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) is a yearly service agreement between a plant operator and an equipment supplier…
Anode Bake Oven (anode baking furnace, anode bake furnace) — An anode bake oven is a furnace in aluminium smelters that bakes carbon-paste anodes to harden them. It emits…
antistatic (antistatic, anti-static) — Of a material, coating, or treatment that prevents the build-up of static electrical charge. Antistatic filter bags,…
Asbestos (asbestos fibres, asbestos dust) — Asbestos is a banned fibrous mineral once used in insulation and roofing; inhaling its fibres causes mesothelioma and…
ASME (ASME, American Society of Mechanical Engineers) — American Society of Mechanical Engineers — the professional body that publishes widely adopted codes and standards…
austenitic stainless steel (300-series stainless steel) — The most widely used family of stainless steels, characterised by a face-centred cubic crystal structure,…
authorisation (authorisation, authorization) — Authorisation is the statutory permission issued under rules such as the Hazardous Waste Rules or Plastic Waste…

B 15 terms

Bagasse (sugarcane bagasse, bagasse fuel) — Bagasse is the fibrous residue left after crushing sugarcane to extract juice. It is widely used as a renewable…
baghouse (baghouse, baghouse filter) — A dust collector that filters process air through fabric bags or cartridges, capturing fine particulate matter…
Bank Guarantee (bank guarantee, BG) — A written commitment from a bank to pay a regulator a specified sum if the industrial unit fails to meet a consent…
BAT (best available technology, best available techniques) — BAT stands for Best Available Technology — the most effective and practical treatment methods available that can…
Benzene (C6H6, benzol) — Benzene (C₆H₆) is a volatile aromatic hydrocarbon and known human carcinogen released from refining, fuel handling…
Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP, benzo[a]pyrene) — Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon formed by incomplete combustion of organic matter and…
Best Available Technology (BAT, best available techniques) — Best Available Technology (BAT) is the most effective and practical treatment method available that can achieve…
Beta emitter (beta emitter, beta-emitting radionuclide) — A beta emitter is a radioactive material that releases beta particles (electrons or positrons) on decay. The effluent…
Bio-assay test (bioassay test, fish bioassay) — The bio-assay test is a toxicity test using live fish — 90% must survive after 96 hours in 100% effluent. It confirms…
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD, BOD3) — Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is the oxygen micro-organisms need to break down organic matter in water over a set…
Biological treatment (biological treatment, bio-treatment) — Biological treatment is the use of bacteria, fungi or other micro-organisms to break down organic pollutants in…
BOD (BOD, BOD5) — BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) is the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms when decomposing organic…
Boilers and Furnaces (industrial boiler, fire tube boiler) — A closed pressure vessel in which water is heated to produce steam or hot water for space heating, process heating,…
break-even utilisation (break-even capacity utilisation, minimum viable utilisation) — Break-even utilisation is the minimum percentage of installed capacity at which a recycling plant's total revenue…
Brewery (brewery, beer brewery) — A brewery is a beer-manufacturing facility. The wastewater generation benchmark is 0.25 m³ per kilolitre of beer…

C 34 terms

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate, compounded annual growth rate) — CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the rate at which an investment, revenue, or market grows from an initial value…
Calcination (calcining, calcine) — Calcination is the thermal treatment that drives off volatile or chemically combined moisture and CO₂ from minerals…
CAPEX (Capital Expenditure, capital cost) — CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) refers to the one-time upfront investments required to acquire or build long-term assets…
Capital Cost (CAPEX) (Capital Cost (CAPEX), CAPEX) — CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) is the total upfront investment required to acquire, build, or upgrade physical assets —…
carbon credits (carbon credit, CER) — Carbon credits are tradeable permits representing one tonne of CO2 equivalent emissions avoided or removed, providing…
Carbon Monoxide (Carbon Monoxide, CO) — A colourless, odourless, tasteless toxic gas produced by incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels. Carbon…
Category A (Category A, Category A project) — The highest-impact EIA project classification under India's EIA Notification, 2006. Category A projects require…
Caustic Soda (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) — Caustic soda is sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Its wastewater generation benchmarks are 1 m³ per tonne for the membrane…
CE (CE, CE marking) — Conformité Européenne — a mandatory product safety mark for goods sold in the European Economic Area. Equipment…
CEMS (CEMS, CEMS meaning) — CEMS (Continuous Emission Monitoring System) is sensor equipment installed on industrial stacks to continuously…
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB, Central PCB) — CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) is India's apex environmental regulator, established under the Water Act 1974,…
Centrifugal pump (Centrifugal pump, centrifugal water pump) — A pump that uses a rotating impeller to add velocity to fluid, converting that velocity to pressure in the volute…
CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises, credit guarantee scheme) — CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises) is a Government of India trust that provides…
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD, chemical oxygen demand test) — Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is the total oxygen needed to chemically oxidise all pollutants in wastewater, including…
chemical recycling (advanced recycling, feedstock recycling) — Chemical recycling breaks down waste plastic using chemical reactions (depolymerisation, pyrolysis, gasification, or…
Chemiluminescence (chemiluminescence analyser, CLD) — Chemiluminescence is an analytical technique that measures NO₂, ammonia or ozone by detecting the light emitted from…
Chlorine (Cl2, chlorine gas) — Chlorine is a pungent greenish-yellow gas used in chemical industries that is corrosive to the lungs even at low…
Chromium (chromium, Cr) — Chromium (Cr) is a toxic heavy metal. The inland surface water effluent limit is 2.0 mg/L total chromium and 0.1 mg/L…
circular economy — An economic model that eliminates waste by keeping materials in use as long as possible through reuse, repair,…
COD (COD, COD meaning) — COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) is the amount of oxygen required to chemically oxidise all organic matter in water,…
Coke Oven (coke ovens, coking oven) — A coke oven is a sealed oven that bakes coal at high temperature without air to produce metallurgical coke for…
competent authority (designated authority, appropriate authority) — A competent authority is the specific government body or official legally empowered to grant permissions and enforce…
consent (consent, CTE/CTO) — Consent is the Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) issued by the State Pollution Control Board…
consent fee (consent fee, CTE fee) — The fee charged by State Pollution Control Boards for granting Consent to Establish (CTE) or Consent to Operate…
Consent to Establish (CTE, CTE meaning) — Consent to Establish (CTE) is the formal SPCB approval that permits an entrepreneur to set up an industrial plant at…
Consent to Operate (CTO, CTO pollution control) — Consent to Operate (CTO) is the SPCB approval that an industrial plant must obtain before commencing regular…
Copper (copper, Cu) — Copper (Cu) is a heavy metal toxic to aquatic life at low concentrations. The inland surface water and public sewers…
CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board, CPCB India) — The Central Pollution Control Board is India's apex statutory body for environmental regulation, constituted under…
crusher/shredder (crusher/shredder, shredder) — Industrial machines that break down bulky waste items — tyres, electronics, plastics, organic material — into…
CTE (CTE, CTE full form) — Consent to Establish (CTE) is a mandatory written approval from a State Pollution Control Board that allows an…
CTE/CTO (CTE, CTO) — CTE (Consent to Establish) and CTO (Consent to Operate) are the two mandatory approvals issued by a State Pollution…
CTO (CTO, CTO full form) — Consent to Operate (CTO) is a mandatory SPCB approval issued after plant construction is complete, authorising an…
Cupola (cupola furnace, foundry cupola) — A cupola is a vertical shaft furnace used in iron foundries to melt scrap iron with coke. It emits particulate matter…
Cyanide (cyanide, CN) — Cyanide is the highly toxic CN ion from electroplating, mining and chemical industries. The inland surface water…

D 12 terms

dB(A) (dB(A), dBA) — dB(A) is the A-weighted decibel scale — a measurement of sound pressure level weighted to reflect the sensitivity of…
DEAC (DEAC, District Expert Appraisal Committee) — District Expert Appraisal Committee — a district-level expert body under India's EIA framework that examines Category…
DEIAA (District Environment Impact Assessment Authority, District Environmental Clearance Authority) — DEIAA (District Environment Impact Assessment Authority) grants Environmental Clearance for Category B2 minor-mineral…
densifier (plastic film densifier, agglomerator) — A densifier is a machine that compacts loose plastic film or foam waste into dense, flowable granules by applying…
density separation (sink-float separation, gravity separation) — Density separation is a mechanical sorting method that splits shredded e-waste or plastics into fractions by their…
depolymerisation (Depolymerization, chemical depolymerisation) — Depolymerisation is a chemical recycling process that breaks plastic polymers back into their monomer building blocks…
designated authority (competent authority, designated officer) — A designated authority is the government body or officer that a law or notification names to exercise a particular…
Diesel Generator (DG) sets (DG set, diesel generator set) — A diesel generator (DG) set is a self-contained backup power unit pairing a diesel engine with an alternator to…
Dissolved Phosphates (dissolved phosphate, phosphate as P) — Dissolved phosphates are phosphate (as P) in soluble form in effluent, which promotes algal blooms (eutrophication)…
Distillery (distillery, alcohol distillery) — A distillery is an alcohol-manufacturing facility, typically from molasses or grain. The wastewater generation…
DPR (Detailed Project Report, project report) — DPR (Detailed Project Report) is the comprehensive technical and financial document submitted to banks, government…
DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio, debt coverage ratio) — DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) is calculated as net operating income divided by total debt service (principal +…

E 21 terms

EAC (EAC, EAC full form) — The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) is the central technical committee under MoEFCC that reviews EIA reports for…
ED-XRF (energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence, ED XRF) — ED-XRF (Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence) is a non-destructive technique that measures lead and other metals on…
Eddy current separator (eddy current separator, ECS) — An induction-based separator that ejects non-ferrous metals (aluminium, copper, brass) from a conveyor belt by…
effluent (effluent, industrial effluent) — Liquid waste or wastewater discharged as a by-product of industrial processes, containing dissolved chemicals,…
Effluent Discharge Standards (effluent standards, discharge standards) — Effluent Discharge Standards are the legally prescribed limits on pollutant concentrations — BOD, COD, suspended…
Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP, ETP meaning) — An Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) is a multi-stage facility that treats industrial wastewater to remove pollutants…
EIA (EIA, EIA report) — An EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) is a systematic study of a proposed project's environmental effects,…
EIA Notification 2006 (S.O. 1533, EIA Notification) — The EIA Notification 2006 (S.O. 1533) is the Indian regulation that makes Environmental Clearance mandatory for…
Emission (air emission, stack emission) — Emission is the release of pollutants — gases, particulate matter or vapours — into the air from a source such as a…
Emission Standards (air emission standards, stack emission limits) — Emission Standards are the legally prescribed limits on the maximum concentration or quantity of pollutants that may…
EMP (EMP, EMP in EIA) — An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is the action component of an EIA report that specifies how a project will…
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (EP Act, EPA 1986) — The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is India's umbrella environmental law. It empowers the central government to…
environmental clearance (EC, Prior Environmental Clearance) — Environmental Clearance (EC) is the formal approval issued by MoEFCC or SEIAA permitting a major industrial project…
Environmental Compensation (EPR penalty, EC under EPR) — Environmental Compensation is the financial penalty levied by CPCB on producers who fail to meet their annual EPR…
Environmental Management Plan (EMP, EMP in EIA) — An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is the mandatory action-oriented section of every EIA Report that specifies…
Environmental Statement (Environmental return, EP Rules environmental statement) — An Environmental Statement is an annual return submitted to the SPCB that discloses a factory's actual pollution…
EPR (EPR, EPR compliance) — EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) makes manufacturers legally responsible for collecting and recycling their…
EPR Certificate (EPR credit, e-waste EPR certificate) — An EPR Certificate is a CPCB digital credit confirming that a registered recycler processed a specific e-waste…
ETP (ETP, ETP meaning) — An Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) is a facility that treats industrial wastewater using physical, chemical, and…
exhaust muffler (silencer, exhaust silencer) — An exhaust muffler (silencer) is a device fitted to an engine's exhaust to reduce the noise of the escaping…
Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC, EAC EIA India) — The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) is a central-government expert panel that reviews EIA reports for large Category…

F 11 terms

Factories Act, 1948 (Factories Act, Factories Act India) — The Factories Act, 1948 is India's central law governing occupational health, safety, and working conditions in…
Feedstock (raw material, input material) — Feedstock is the raw input material fed into an industrial plant. In recycling and biogas plants, it is the waste or…
Fermentation Industry (fermentation industry, fermentation industries) — The Fermentation Industry covers industries producing alcohol, beer and related products by microbial fermentation —…
ferrous metals (ferrous metal, ferrous scrap) — Ferrous metals are iron-based metals — mild steel, stainless steel and cast iron — that are magnetic and form the…
Fertilizer (fertilizer, fertiliser) — Fertilizer refers to plant-nutrient manufacturing. Wastewater benchmarks are 5 m³ per tonne for straight nitrogenous…
First Schedule (First Schedule, First Schedule consent guidelines) — The schedule appended to India's 2025 Consolidated Consent Guidelines (GSR 84(E)) that contains the official…
Fluoride (F, fluoride emissions) — Fluoride is a reactive halogen pollutant from aluminium smelters, phosphate fertiliser plants and brick kilns that…
formal sector (organised sector, authorised recyclers) — The formal sector is the network of CPCB/SPCB-registered, EPR-compliant e-waste recyclers, dismantlers and…
Free ammonia (free ammonia, un-ionised ammonia) — Free ammonia is the un-ionised ammonia (NH₃) dissolved in water, which is toxic to aquatic life. The inland surface…
friction washer (hot friction washer, plastic friction washer) — A friction washer is a high-speed turbine washing machine used in plastic recycling lines to remove labels, inks, and…
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, food safety licence) — FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) is the statutory body under the Ministry of Health that sets…

G 11 terms

Government Subsidies (government support, financial incentives) — Financial support provided by government agencies to reduce the capital burden of setting up waste-processing or…
Gram Panchayat (Gram Panchayat, GP) — The lowest tier of rural local government in India, with jurisdiction over one or more villages. In the environmental…
granulation (granulating, plastic granules) — Granulation in plastic recycling is the process of converting shredded or flaked plastic waste into uniform pellets…
Granulator (granulator, granulating machine) — A high-speed size-reduction machine that produces uniform particles typically 5–20 mm in size from pre-shredded…
Gravimetric (gravimetric method, gravimetric analysis) — Gravimetric is the reference method for measuring particulate matter: ambient air is drawn through a pre-weighed…
greenhouse gas (GHG, greenhouse gases) — Greenhouse gases (GHGs) -- including CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide -- trap heat in the atmosphere and drive climate…
greenhouse gas emissions (greenhouse gas emissions, GHG emissions) — Gases released into the atmosphere that trap heat and contribute to global warming — primarily CO₂, methane (CH₄),…
grid outages (power cuts, grid outage) — Grid outages are temporary interruptions in the electricity supply from the public distribution network. For…
GSR 84(E) (GSR-84(E), GSR 84E) — GSR 84(E) is a 2025 gazette notification issued by MoEFCC that amended consent frameworks and introduced updated…
GSR-84(E) (GSR 84(E), GSR-84E) — GSR-84(E) is the January 2025 Gazette notification under the Air Act that standardised India's SPCB consent…
GST (Goods and Services Tax, GST India) — GST (Goods and Services Tax) is India's unified indirect tax that replaced multiple central and state taxes from 1…

H 4 terms

HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene, HDPE plastic) — HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) is a rigid, high-strength thermoplastic resin (resin code 2) used in milk bottles,…
HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography) — HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) is a laboratory technique used to measure benzo(a)pyrene and other…
HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature, HSN code) — HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) is an internationally standardised 6-8 digit product classification code used…
Hydrochloric acid (HCl, hydrogen chloride) — Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is a highly corrosive acid released as vapour or mist from chemical and metal-treatment…

I 11 terms

industrial wastewater (industrial wastewater, industrial effluent) — Industrial wastewater is effluent generated by manufacturing or processing activities, typically containing process…
informal sector (unorganised sector, informal recyclers) — The informal sector is the network of unregistered collectors, scrap dealers and backyard recyclers — kabadiwalas,…
insertion loss (acoustic insertion loss, noise insertion loss) — Insertion loss is the reduction in noise level, measured in dB(A), achieved by fitting an acoustic enclosure,…
Integrated Iron & Steel (integrated iron and steel, integrated steel plant) — Integrated Iron & Steel refers to a steel mill that combines ironmaking and steelmaking in one facility. The…
Iron (iron, Fe) — Iron (Fe) is a metal regulated in effluent at a limit of 3 mg/L across most discharge modes. It causes brown staining…
IRR (Internal Rate of Return, project IRR) — IRR (Internal Rate of Return) is the discount rate at which the net present value of a project's cash flows equals…
IS sieve (IS sieve, BIS sieve) — An IS sieve is a standard test sieve specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The 850-micron IS sieve is…
ISO (ISO, International Organization for Standardization) — International Organization for Standardization — the independent, non-governmental international body that develops…
ISO 14001 (ISO 14001, ISO 14001:2015) — The international standard for environmental management systems. ISO 14001 certification means an organisation…
ISO 9001 (ISO 9001, ISO 9001:2015) — The international standard for quality management systems. An ISO 9001 certificate from a vendor means their design,…
ITC (ITC, ITC under GST) — Input Tax Credit (ITC) is the mechanism under India's GST system that allows a registered business to deduct the GST…

K 3 terms

kabadiwala (scrap dealer (informal), kabaadiwala) — Kabadiwala (from Urdu/Hindi: kabad = junk) is an informal itinerant or shop-based scrap buyer who collects household…
KLD (KLD, Kilo Litres per Day) — KLD (Kilo Litres per Day) is a unit measuring liquid flow or discharge volume equal to 1,000 litres per day. It is…
KVA (KVA, kVA) — KVA (Kilovolt-Ampere) is a unit of apparent electrical power equal to 1,000 volt-amperes, used to rate generators,…

L 9 terms

lakh INR (lakh INR, ₹ lakh) — One lakh equals 100,000 units in the Indian numbering system. One lakh Indian Rupees (₹1,00,000) is a standard unit…
Land for Irrigation (irrigation discharge, land disposal of effluent) — Land for irrigation is the use of treated effluent for agricultural land application. Its discharge standards differ…
landfill (sanitary landfill, dump) — A land-based waste disposal site where solid waste is deposited in engineered cells, compacted, and covered. Modern…
LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene, LDPE film) — LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) is a flexible, transparent thermoplastic (resin code 4) used in plastic bags, shrink…
Lead (Pb, lead metal) — Lead (Pb) is a heavy-metal pollutant from smelters, battery manufacture and leaded fuels, and a cumulative neurotoxin…
Leq (equivalent continuous sound level, LAeq) — Leq, the equivalent continuous sound level, is the single steady noise level that contains the same total acoustic…
life cycle (LCA, life cycle analysis) — A methodology for quantifying the total environmental impact of a product from raw material extraction through…
Lime Kiln (lime kilns, limestone kiln) — A lime kiln is a vertical or rotary kiln that converts limestone to quicklime through high-temperature roasting…
loudspeaker or public address system (loudspeaker, public address system) — A loudspeaker or public address system is any device used to amplify and broadcast sound over an area. Under India's…

M 20 terms

magnetic separators (magnetic separators, magnetic separator) — Equipment using powerful magnetic fields to remove ferrous metals (iron, steel) from material streams on conveyor…
Maltry (maltry, malthouse) — A maltry (malthouse) is a plant where grain is germinated and dried to make malt for brewing or distilling. The…
Manganese (manganese, Mn) — Manganese (Mn) is a heavy metal regulated in effluent at a limit of 2 mg/L across most discharge modes. It causes…
Marine Coastal Areas (marine coastal discharge, coastal waters) — Marine coastal areas are sea and estuarine waters where effluent is discharged offshore. Some parameters such as…
masterbatch (colour masterbatch, additive masterbatch) — Masterbatch is a concentrated mixture of pigments or functional additives dispersed in a carrier resin, added in…
mechanical recyclers (mechanical recycler, mechanical plastic recyclers) — Mechanical recyclers shred, wash and re-melt clean plastic waste back into new granules without changing its…
mechanical recycling (physical recycling, secondary recycling) — Mechanical recycling is the process of sorting, washing, shredding, and reprocessing waste plastics into recycled…
Membrane cell process (membrane cell process, membrane cell) — The membrane cell process is the modern, mercury-free method of producing caustic soda using ion-exchange membranes.…
Mercury cell process (mercury cell process, mercury cell) — The mercury cell process is the older caustic-soda manufacturing route using flowing-mercury electrodes, now being…
mg/Nm3 (mg/Nm3, milligrams per normal cubic metre) — mg/Nm³ means milligrams of pollutant per normal cubic metre of dry flue gas (corrected to 0°C and 1 atmosphere). It…
micron (micron, micrometre) — One micron (μm) equals one-thousandth of a millimetre (0.001 mm). The micron is the standard unit for expressing…
MLD (MLD, Million Litres per Day) — MLD (Million Litres per Day) is a unit measuring large-scale liquid flow equal to 1,000,000 litres per day (1,000 KLD…
MLP (Multi-Layer Plastic, Multi-Layered Plastic) — MLP (Multi-Layer Plastic) is laminated flexible packaging made by bonding two or more polymer or aluminium layers —…
MOC (Material of Construction, material specification) — MOC (Material of Construction) — the specific material chosen for industrial equipment based on chemical…
MoEF (MoEF, MoEFCC) — Former name of India's central environmental ministry, now called MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate…
MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, MoEF) — MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) is India's central environment ministry that frames…
MRF (Material Recovery Facility, Material Recovery Centre) — MRF (Material Recovery Facility) is a physical facility where mixed dry waste is sorted, segregated, and baled by…
MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, SSI) — MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) is an Indian business classification based on investment and turnover…
Municipal Solid Waste (Municipal Solid Waste, MSW) — Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is the collective term for all solid waste generated by households, commercial…
MVA (MVA, Mega Volt-Ampere) — MVA (Mega Volt-Ampere) is a unit of apparent electrical power equal to 1,000 KVA or 1,000,000 volt-amperes. It is…

N 16 terms

NAAQS (NAAQS, NAAQS India) — NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) are India's legally prescribed outdoor air quality limits for key…
NABET (NABET, National Accreditation Board for Education and Training) — National Accreditation Board for Education and Training — a body under the Quality Council of India (QCI) that…
Natural Rubber Processing (natural rubber processing, rubber processing) — Natural Rubber Processing is the processing of latex into block, sheet or crepe rubber. The wastewater generation…
Nickel (Ni, nickel metal) — Nickel (Ni) is a toxic heavy metal released by smelting, electroplating and incineration, and is a respiratory…
night time (night time, night-time noise limit) — In India's noise regulation, night time is the period from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., during which stricter ambient noise…
NIR (NIR, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy) — Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy identifies plastic polymer types by shining near-infrared light onto a surface and…
Nitrate Nitrogen (nitrate nitrogen, NO3-N) — Nitrate nitrogen is nitrate (NO₃-N) in wastewater, which contributes to eutrophication and to methemoglobinemia risk…
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2, NO₂) — Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) is a reddish-brown toxic gas formed by high-temperature combustion in boilers and engines. It…
Nitrogen Oxides (Nitrogen Oxides, NOx) — A family of gases (primarily nitric oxide NO and nitrogen dioxide NO₂) formed at high combustion temperatures when…
No Objection Certificate (NOC, NOC full form) — A No Objection Certificate (NOC) is a formal written clearance from a competent authority stating that it has no…
NO2 (nitrogen dioxide, NO₂) — NO2 is the chemical formula for Nitrogen Dioxide — a toxic reddish-brown gas from high-temperature combustion that…
NOC (No Objection Certificate, NOC India) — A No Objection Certificate (NOC) is a formal clearance from a regulatory or local body confirming no objection to a…
Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 (Noise Rules, Noise Rules 2000) — The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 are India's federal noise regulations, framed under the…
non-ferrous metals (non ferrous metals, nonferrous metals) — Non-ferrous metals are metals containing no iron — chiefly copper, aluminium, zinc, lead, tin, nickel and the…
notified silence zone (notified silence area, declared silence zone) — A notified silence zone is a silence zone that the competent authority has formally declared and published by…
NPV (Net Present Value, discounted cash flow) — NPV (Net Present Value) is the sum of all project cash flows discounted back to today's value — a positive NPV means…

O 6 terms

occupier (occupier, factory occupier) — The person or entity legally responsible for the operations of an industrial plant under Indian environmental and…
OCEMS (OCEMS, CEMS) — OCEMS (Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System) is CPCB's mandated stack monitoring system, where sensors…
OCMMS (OCMMS, Online Consent Management and Monitoring System) — Online Consent Management and Monitoring System — the digital portal used by State Pollution Control Boards to…
offtake (offtake agreement, offtake contract) — Offtake is a contractual commitment by a buyer to purchase a defined quantity of a producer's output at pre-agreed…
OPEX (Operating Expenditure, operating cost) — OPEX (Operating Expenditure) refers to the recurring day-to-day costs of running an established business -- including…
Ozone (O3, O₃) — Ozone (O₃) is a reactive secondary air pollutant formed when nitrogen oxides and VOCs react in sunlight. Ground-level…

P 26 terms

payback period (simple payback, capital recovery period) — Payback period is the number of years required for a project's cumulative net cash inflows to recover the initial…
peristaltic pump (Peristaltic pump, hose pump) — A pump that moves fluid by squeezing a flexible hose or tube in a rolling motion, so the pump mechanism never…
PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate, PET bottle) — PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) is a clear, lightweight polyester thermoplastic (resin code 1) used in beverage…
PLA (Polylactic Acid, bioplastic) — PLA (Polylactic Acid) is a bio-based, compostable thermoplastic derived from fermented plant sugars, used in…
Plant Availability (Plant Availability, equipment availability) — The percentage of scheduled time that a plant or piece of equipment is fully operational and ready to produce output,…
plant operations (plant operation, facility operations) — Plant operations are the day-to-day activities that keep a manufacturing or processing facility running — feedstock…
Plastic Waste Management Rules (PWM Rules 2016, PWM Rules 2022 Amendment) — The Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 (amended 2021 and 2022) are India's primary regulation governing plastic…
PLC (PLC, PLC meaning) — A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is a ruggedised industrial computer that automates process control by executing…
PLC-based control (PLC-based control, PLC) — PLC-based control refers to industrial automation systems in which a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) — a…
PM10 (RSPM, Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter) — PM10 refers to airborne particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less. These coarse particles are…
PM2.5 (fine particulate matter, PM 2.5) — PM2.5 refers to airborne particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less. These fine particles…
PMEGP (Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme, PMEGP loan) — PMEGP (Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme) is a GoI credit-linked subsidy scheme administered by KVIC…
Pollution Control Boards (CPCB and SPCB, pollution control board) — Pollution Control Boards are the statutory regulators — the CPCB at the centre and SPCBs in each state — that issue…
Positive Displacement Pump (Positive Displacement Pump, PD pump) — A pump category that moves fluid by trapping a fixed volume per cycle and forcing it through the discharge. Delivers…
PP (Polypropylene, PP plastic) — PP (Polypropylene) is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic (resin code 5) used in woven bags, containers, automotive…
ppm (ppm, parts per million) — Parts per million (ppm) is a unit of concentration expressing how many units of a substance exist in one million…
price volatility (commodity price volatility, market price risk) — The degree of unpredictable price fluctuation for feedstocks or products over time. High volatility increases…
Prior Environmental Clearance (Environmental Clearance, EC) — Prior Environmental Clearance (EC) is the approval from MoEFCC or SEIAA that must be obtained before any construction…
PRO (PRO, PRO meaning) — A PRO (Producer Responsibility Organisation) is a CPCB-registered third-party body that manages EPR compliance for…
PS (Polystyrene, EPS) — PS (Polystyrene) is a rigid, amorphous thermoplastic (resin code 6) used in food containers, yoghurt cups, and…
public consultation (public consultation, public hearing) — Stage 3 of India's Environmental Clearance process — a mandatory public hearing and written comment period in which…
public emergency (public emergency exemption, emergency) — A public emergency is a situation involving an immediate threat to public safety, health or welfare, during which…
Public Sewers (public sewer, municipal sewer) — Public sewers are the municipal sewer network. Effluent may be discharged into them only if the sewer leads to a…
Pulp & Paper (pulp and paper, paper mill) — Pulp & Paper is the paper-manufacturing industry. Wastewater generation benchmarks are about 175 m³ per tonne for…
PVC (PVC, Polyvinyl Chloride) — Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is a chlorinated thermoplastic polymer widely used in cable insulation, pipes, and window…
PWP (Plastic Waste Processor, Plastic Waste Processor (PWP) category) — PWP (Plastic Waste Processor) is a regulatory category under India's Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 that…

Q 1 term

QCI (QCI, Quality Council of India) — Quality Council of India — the apex national accreditation body that operates accreditation schemes for testing…

R 11 terms

Radioactive materials (radioactive materials, radionuclides) — Radioactive materials are alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides in wastewater, measured in micro-curie/ml. They are…
RCC (RCC, Reinforced Cement Concrete) — Reinforced Cement Concrete — a composite construction material combining concrete with embedded steel bars or mesh to…
Receiving Environment (receiving area, receptor environment) — The receiving environment is the surrounding area into which a plant's emissions disperse and where air quality is…
Receiving Water Body (receiving water, receiving stream) — A receiving water body is any river, stream, lake, pond, coastal area or land into which treated effluent is finally…
recovery yield (material recovery rate, yield rate) — Recovery yield is the percentage of input material weight that becomes usable, saleable output from a recycling…
residential areas (residential area, residential zone) — A residential area is one of the four zone categories in India's noise regulation, covering areas designated for…
reverse logistics (reverse supply chain, product return logistics) — Reverse logistics is the system for moving end-of-life products back from users to recyclers — the collection,…
Reverse Osmosis (RO, RO membrane) — A water purification process where pressure drives water through a semi-permeable membrane, rejecting dissolved…
RIC (Resin Identification Code, plastic number) — RIC (Resin Identification Code) is the numbering system (1–7) inside the chasing-arrows triangle on plastic products…
rPET (recycled PET, recycled polyethylene terephthalate) — rPET (recycled PET) is polyethylene terephthalate produced from post-consumer PET waste — primarily beverage bottles…
RSPM (Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter, PM10) — RSPM (Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter) refers to airborne particles of 10 µm or smaller (PM10) that penetrate…

S 37 terms

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, industrial monitoring system) — SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is an industrial monitoring and control system that collects…
scoping (scoping, EIA scoping) — Stage 2 of India's Environmental Clearance process — the step in which the Expert Appraisal Committee defines the…
screening (screening, EIA screening) — Stage 1 of India's Environmental Clearance process — the step that determines whether a proposed project requires an…
SEAC (SEAC, State EAC) — The State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) is the state-level technical committee that reviews EIA reports for…
Second Schedule (Second Schedule, Second Schedule consent guidelines) — The schedule appended to India's 2025 Consolidated Consent Guidelines (GSR 84(E)) that prescribes the maximum fee…
Secondary treatment (secondary treatment, biological treatment stage) — Secondary treatment is the biological wastewater treatment stage — such as activated sludge or biofilters — that…
Section 21 (Section 21, Section 21 Air Act) — The provision of India's Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 that requires every person intending to…
SEIAA (SEIAA, State EIA Authority) — SEIAA (State Environment Impact Assessment Authority) is the state-level body in India that grants Environmental…
Selenium (selenium, Se) — Selenium (Se) is a toxic metalloid that bioaccumulates in aquatic food chains. The inland surface water and public…
Sewage (sewage, domestic wastewater) — Sewage is wastewater from domestic sources — toilets, sinks, kitchens — typically processed through Sewage Treatment…
Shredder (industrial shredder, primary shredder) — A shredder is a size-reduction machine that breaks down large waste items -- tyres, electronics, plastics -- into…
shredders, granulators, agglomerators, extruders (plastic recycling machinery, shredder granulator agglomerator extruder) — Shredders, granulators, agglomerators and extruders are the core machine sequence of a plastic recycling line:…
SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India, SIDBI loan) — SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) is India's apex development finance institution for the MSME…
Silence Zone (Silence Zone, noise sensitive zone) — A designated noise-restricted area within 100 metres of hospitals, educational institutions, courts, and religious…
silence zones (silence zone, silence area/zone) — A silence zone is an area of at least 100 metres around hospitals, educational institutions and courts where the…
Smelter (smelting furnace, metal smelter) — A smelter is a high-temperature furnace that extracts or refines metal from ore concentrates or scrap. It is a major…
sound pressure level (SPL, sound pressure level (SPL)) — Sound pressure level (SPL) is a measure of sound intensity relative to a fixed reference pressure, expressed in…
sound-emitting fire crackers (firecrackers, sound-emitting firecrackers) — Sound-emitting fire crackers are explosive devices designed to produce loud bangs. Under India's Noise Rules and…
SPCB (State Pollution Control Board, Pollution Control Committee) — State Pollution Control Board — the state-level statutory authority responsible for issuing, monitoring, and…
SPM (SPM, Total Suspended Particles) — SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) is the total mass concentration of all airborne particles in the atmosphere, a…
SS 304 (SS 304, Stainless Steel 304) — The most widely used austenitic stainless steel grade — containing 18% chromium and 8% nickel — offering good…
SS 316 (SS 316, Stainless Steel 316) — A molybdenum-alloyed austenitic stainless steel grade offering superior resistance to corrosion from chlorides,…
SSI (Small Scale Industry, MSME) — Small Scale Industry (SSI) is India's legacy classification for smaller industrial units, now superseded by the MSME…
SSP (Solid-State Polycondensation, solid-state polymerisation) — SSP (Solid-State Polycondensation) is a post-processing step for recycled PET that restores Intrinsic Viscosity by…
Stack (chimney, flue stack) — A stack is the vertical chimney or duct that releases treated exhaust gases into the atmosphere at a height that…
Stack height (chimney height, minimum stack height) — Stack height is the minimum chimney height prescribed by CPCB rules so that pollutants disperse safely above the…
stack height requirements (stack height norms, chimney height requirement) — Stack height requirements are the mandatory minimum heights that CPCB sets for the exhaust stacks of diesel…
State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA, State EIA Authority) — State Environment Impact Assessment Authority — the state-level statutory body responsible for granting Environmental…
State Level Monitoring Committee (State Level Monitoring Committee, SLMC) — A supervisory body constituted under India's 2025 consent guidelines to decide CTE and CTO applications when the…
State Pollution Control Board (SPCB, State PCB) — A State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) is the state-level body in India that issues Consent to Establish and Consent…
State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) (SPCB, State Pollution Control Board) — State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) are state-level statutory bodies that implement India's environmental laws —…
State Pollution Control Committees (SPCCs) (SPCC, Pollution Control Committee) — State Pollution Control Committees (SPCCs) are the pollution-control authorities for India's Union Territories,…
stator (pump stator, PCP stator) — The stationary helical rubber sleeve inside a Progressive Cavity Pump that seals against the rotor to form the moving…
STP (STP, STP meaning) — An STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) is a facility that treats domestic sewage and municipal wastewater to remove organic…
Sulphuric acid mist (H2SO4 mist, sulfuric acid mist) — Sulphuric acid mist is a fine aerosol of H₂SO₄ released from sulphuric acid plants and metal pickling that is highly…
Summary EIA (Summary EIA, EIA Summary) — A Summary EIA is a condensed version of a full Environmental Impact Assessment report, limited to a maximum of 10 A4…
Suspended solids (TSS, total suspended solids) — Suspended solids are the undissolved particles in wastewater. The inland surface water limit is 100 mg/L; public…

T 14 terms

take-back (takeback, take back) — Take-back is a producer's obligation, under Extended Producer Responsibility, to collect its products back from users…
Tanneries (tannery, leather tannery) — Tanneries are the leather-processing industry. The wastewater generation benchmark is 28 cubic metres per tonne of…
TDS (TDS, TDS meaning) — TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) is the total concentration of dissolved mineral salts in water, measured in mg/L. High…
Terms of Reference (ToR, TOR EIA) — Terms of Reference (ToR) is the EIA scoping document issued by EAC or SEAC that defines exactly what studies and…
Tertiary treatment (tertiary treatment, advanced treatment) — Tertiary treatment is the advanced wastewater treatment stage beyond conventional secondary biological treatment,…
Time Weighted Average (TWA, time-weighted average) — Time Weighted Average (TWA) is the average pollutant concentration measured over a defined exposure period — 24…
ToR (ToR, ToR EIA) — Terms of Reference (ToR) is the scoping document issued by the EIA regulator (EAC or SEAC) that specifies exactly…
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN, Kjeldahl nitrogen) — Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) is the sum of organic nitrogen plus ammoniacal nitrogen in a sample, expressed as NH₃.…
Total residual chlorine (total residual chlorine, TRC) — Total residual chlorine is the free plus combined chlorine remaining in water after disinfection. The inland surface…
TPA (Tonnes Per Annum, tons per year) — TPA (Tonnes Per Annum) is a capacity and throughput metric expressing how many metric tonnes a facility processes or…
TPD (TPD, Tonnes Per Day) — Tonnes Per Day (TPD) is the standard unit expressing a plant's processing or production capacity on a daily basis. It…
TPH (TPH, Tonnes Per Hour) — Tonnes Per Hour (TPH) is the standard unit for expressing the instantaneous throughput rate of recycling equipment or…
TSP (triple super phosphate, triple superphosphate) — TSP stands for Triple Super Phosphate — a high-grade phosphatic fertiliser containing about 46% P₂O₅. The wastewater…
TSS (TSS, TSS meaning) — TSS (Total Suspended Solids) is the concentration of particles suspended in water that are retained on a filter, used…

U 3 terms

Udyog Aadhaar (Udyog Aadhar, Udyam Registration) — Udyog Aadhaar is the MSME registration number issued to micro, small and medium enterprises by the Ministry of MSME,…
ug/m3 (ug/m3, micrograms per cubic metre) — µg/m³ means micrograms of pollutant per cubic metre of ambient air. It is the standard unit for NAAQS ambient air…
UL (UL, Underwriters Laboratories) — Underwriters Laboratories — a US-based independent product safety testing and certification organisation. Equipment…

V 8 terms

VFD (VFD, VSD) — A VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) is an electronic device that controls AC motor speed by varying frequency and…
VFDs (VFDs, VFD) — Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) are electronic devices that control the speed of electric motors by varying the…
Viscose Filament Yarn (VFY, viscose filament yarn) — Viscose Filament Yarn (VFY) is a continuous-filament regenerated cellulose yarn used in textiles. It is the most…
Viscose Rayon (viscose rayon, rayon) — Viscose Rayon is a regenerated cellulose textile fibre made from wood pulp. The wastewater generation benchmark is…
Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF, viscose staple fibre) — Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) is a short-length regenerated cellulose fibre used for blending with cotton or wool. The…
Viscosity (dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity) — A fluid property measuring resistance to flow, expressed in Pascal-seconds (Pa·s) or centipoise (cP). Higher…
VOCs (VOCs, VOC) — Volatile Organic Compounds — organic chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature, contributing to air…
voltage fluctuations (voltage fluctuation, voltage variation) — Voltage fluctuations are variations in the supply voltage above or below its nominal level. Common on Indian…

W 6 terms

Waste-to-Energy (WtE, W2E) — The process of generating usable energy — electricity, heat, or fuel — from waste materials that would otherwise go…
Wastewater (wastewater, waste water) — Wastewater is used water from domestic, industrial or commercial activities that contains dissolved or suspended…
Wastewater Generation Standards (wastewater generation benchmarks, water consumption standards) — Wastewater Generation Standards are indicative quantity benchmarks — cubic metres of wastewater per tonne or…
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (Water Act, Water Act 1974) — The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 is the foundational Indian law that established CPCB and…
Water Act (Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Water Act 1974) — The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 established CPCB and the SPCBs and requires industries to…
wear part (wearing part, consumable part) — A pump or machine component that undergoes gradual physical degradation during normal operation due to friction,…

Z 1 term

Zinc (zinc, Zn) — Zinc (Zn) is a heavy metal regulated in effluent. The inland surface water limit is 5.0 mg/L; public sewers and…

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A 22 terms

B 15 terms

C 34 terms

D 12 terms

E 21 terms

F 11 terms

G 11 terms

H 4 terms

I 11 terms

K 3 terms

L 9 terms

M 20 terms

N 16 terms

O 6 terms

P 26 terms

Q 1 term

R 11 terms

S 37 terms

T 14 terms

U 3 terms

V 8 terms

W 6 terms

Z 1 term

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