Glossary

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Sanitary sewer system

A sanitation system with two drains; one to evacuate the wastewater, the other to evacuate rainwater (surface runoff water during rainy weather).

Sanitation

All the techniques involved in the collection, transport, and treatment of wastewater and rainwater in a conurbation (collective sanitation), an industrial site, or a private plot of land (on-site treatment) before their release back into the natural environment. The elimination of sewage sludge produced by treatment appliances is part of sanitation.

Screening (fine or coarse)

Retained solid matter of more or less large gauge using an appropriately calibrated grid.

Selective collection

Any collection which separates certain types of waste (for example, packaging, glass, paper…), with a view of recovering them.

Sewage sludge

Commonly refers to the waste sediment resulting from the treatment of wastewater. The sludge can be urban or industrial.

Sifting

An operation similar to screening, but resulting in a finer confinement of solid matter.

SIOM

Syndicat intercommunal des ordures ménagères (France).

Sorting at source level

Separation of waste per type of material, carried out by residents in their homes or by companies(sorting on the production chain, industrial waste tips).

Sorting centre

Specific sorting and waste regrouping facility to which waste may be sent following collection. Also referred to as a Material Recycling Facility (MRF).

Subsoil water

All the water under the surface of the ground in direct contact with the ground or the subsoil and which transits more or less quickly (in days, months, years, centuries, or millennia) through the cracks and pores in the saturation zone or not. Directive 80-68-EEC dated 17/12/79.