Waste Management - Disposal of Surplus, Obsolete and Scrap

Before going into the details of waste management, some of the important terms, i.e. surplus, obsolete and scrap etc. need to be defined. 

• Surplus Stocks  : These are materials which have no immediate use or at least in the foreseeable future. They have accumulated due to faulty planning, forecasting and purchasing. Sometimes, they may have accumulated since they are standard bought in quantities only and not in loose form where they would be more expensive. In short, surplus stocks are the items which are in excess of their requirement. 
• Obsolete Stocks  : They are those items which are not damaged and have economic worth but are not suitable for the company's specific operations. For example, the spare parts of machines that have been phased out. Changes in product design, technological advancements, rationalistic, food and drugs whose effectiveness has lapsed over time, wrong codification etc. are some of the reasons why obsolescence  occurs. As the name implies, they are non-moving items of the inventory. 
• Salvageable Items  : These are items which cannot be used for the original purpose but out of which certain parts may be removed and used either with or without rework. For example, the motor of a spoil air-conditioner may be used for other air-conditioners. While removing, theses motors should again be regularized as spares for inventory purpose. 
• Reclaimable Items  : These are items which have worn out by use but their life can be extended by some specialized processes. An example is worn out treys which can be retreaded. Before reclaiming items, their extended life should be properly determined as sometimes~reclaiming  is expensive and the extended life is not commensurate to the cost incurred. 
• Scrap    : This is another term which is used to describe material not useful to the organisation (sometimes, used also for obsolete and surplus items when these are not useful to the organisation). Scrap can be defined as the residue from a construction or manufacturing process which cannot be used economically within the organisation. Typical scrap material in the construction industry are empty tins, drums, and packing material etc.