AD: Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion, like composting, is an alternative to land-filling of organic wastes. It is a naturally occurring process of decomposition and decay, by which organic matter is broken down to its simpler chemicals components under anaerobic conditions (without oxygen).

BAT: Best Available Technology
The latest stage of development of processes, of facilities or of methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability of a particular measure for limiting discharges.

BMT: Biological Mechanical Treatment
Biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) is biodegradable waste that is collected by local authorities from households, some businesses, parks and so on. Household sources of bio waste include kitchen scraps and garden waste, paper and cardboard as well as natural textiles. (European Commission 2004)

BMW: Biodegradable Municipal Waste
Biodegradable municipal waste is that part of the household waste stream that would decompose in a landfill. It makes up around 65% of all household waste.

Biofuels: Any fuel that derives from Biomass
Biofuels are a renewable energy, unlike natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels.Biomass: Any plant-derived organic matter. Biomass available for energy on a sustainable basis includes herbaceous and woody energy crops, agricultural food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes and residues, aquatic plants, and other waste materials including some municipal wastes.

CCA: Copper Chromium Arsenic
CCA is a mixture of chemical compounds containing copper chromium and arsenic. It is a preservative used to treat wood to stop it rotting when used outdoors. CCA treated timber was developed in the 1930s and has more or less been in constant production ever since.

CHP: Combined Heat and Power
A CHP plant is an installation where there is simultaneous generation of usable heat and power (usually electricity) in a single process

FFV: Flexible Fuel Vehicle
A flexible fuel vehicle (FFV) is specially designed to run on any Fuel Ethanol blend up to 85% ethanol. Special onboard diagnostics "read" the fuel blend, enabling drivers to fuel with E85 or petrol or any combination of the two. The process happens automatically, the onboard computer adjusts the FFV's fuel injection and ignition timing to compensate for the different fuel mixtures

GHG: Green House Gas
Greenhouse gases allow the sun's radiation to pass through the Earth's atmosphere. Excess that can't be absorbed is reflected back. Particles of greenhouse gas absorb the radiation, warming the atmosphere. Increasing levels of greenhouse gases cause too much energy to be trapped - the "greenhouse effect" which keeps the Earth's surface much warmer than if the GHGs were absent.

IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

LATS: Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme
The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme is the government's key measure to meet the demands of the European Landfill Directive in England, and began on April 1, 2005. The LATS system works by councils being set allowances on the amount of biodegradable material they can send to landfill.

LCB: Lignocellulosic Biomass
Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant material in the world and is a renewable energy resource. It is made up of anything of a woody nature that was once growing and is comprised of three main substances:· Lignin: a fibrous material that holds the structure together· Cellulose: a material that breaks down into glucose-type sugars· Hemi-cellulose: a material that breaks down into xylose-type sugars

Lignin: Naturally occurring substance produced by plants
It is used by plants to strengthen their tissues and is difficult for enzymes to attack.. Lignin is the essential fibre in wood and is, therefore, of commercial importance in the paper industry.

MBT: Mechanical Biological Treatment
MBT is a term used to describe a particular waste treatment concept for the management of municipal and non-hazardous industrial and commercial waste. MBT plants combine individual mechanical and biological processes in different ways depending on the output required.

MSW: Municipal Solid Waste
MSW is more commonly known as trash or garbage-consists of everyday items such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries.

MTBE: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a flammable liquid with a distinctive, disagreeable odour. It is made from blending chemicals such as isobutylene and methanol, and has been used since the 1980s as an additive in unleaded petrol in order to achieve more efficient burning.

PET: Polyethylene Terephthalate (Plastic)
Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, is a form of plastic that is extremely hard, wear-resistant, dimensionally stable, resistant to chemicals, and has good dielectric properties. PET has become a material of choice for bottling beverages, such as mineral water and carbonated soft drinks. It also is used for microwave food trays and food packaging films.

RDF: Refuse Derived Fuel
A solid fuel produced by shredding municipal solid waste (MSW). Non-combustible materials such as glass and metals are generally removed prior to making RDF. The residual material is sold as-is or compressed into pellets, bricks, or logs.

RTFO: Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation
In the 2004 Pre-Budget Report the Government therefore announced that it would look at the possibility of a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), along the lines of the Renewable Obligation which exists in the power generation sector. An RTFO would require transport fuel suppliers to ensure that a percentage of their sales in the UK were from a renewable source.

SEA: Strategic Environmental Assessment
SEA is a process to ensure that significant environmental effects arising from policies, plans and programmes are identified, assessed, mitigated, communicated to decision-makers, monitored and that opportunities for public involvement are provided.

Stover: The dried stalks and leaves of a crop
They remain after the grain has been harvested.

WEEE: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
The new WEEE Directive was published by the EU in January 2003. It seeks to improve the way WEEE is managed and aims to protect both human health and the environment. It sets targets for collecting WEEE, new standards for the treatment of WEEE and strict recycling and recovery targets to help minimise its disposal.