Post-consumer waste is waste produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste-producing use did not involve the production of another product.
Quite commonly, it is simply the garbage that individuals routinely discard, either in a waste receptacle or a dump, or by littering, incinerating, pouring down the drain, or washing into the gutter.
It consists of:
- packaging
- parts that are not needed, such as fruit skins, bones in meat, etc.
- undesired things received, e.g.:
- advertising material in the mailbox
- a flyer received in the street without having the opportunity to refuse
- dust, weed, fallen leaves, etc.
- things one no longer needs, e.g. a magazine that has been read, things replaced by new versions, clothes out of fashion, remaining food that one cannot keep or does not want to keep
- broken things, things no longer working, spoilt food, worn-out clothes, clothes which no longer fit
- disposables such as Kleenex and finished batteries
- human waste, waste of pets, waste water from various forms of cleaning
- "post-life waste"
- (not a very respectful term though): one's body or ashes
- things the heirs do not want and cannot sell
Landfill sites are almost full and new ones are difficult to find. Unfortunately, more and more garbage is being produced each year. Therefore, in some locales, efforts are often made to separate paper, metals, plastics, and glass into separate waste streams for recycling.
In many countries, such as the United States, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in post-consumer waste once it leaves the consumer's home. Anyone can search it, including the police, and any incriminating evidence recovered can be used at trial. After the U.S. Supreme Court declared that rule in California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988), paper shredders became very popular among Americans.