♻️ Waste & Recycling

• baler BAY-ler ▶ EN
  prensa de cartón PREN-sah deh kahr-TOHN ▶ ES Safety-critical

  The machine that compresses cardboard into bales; trained and authorized operators only, 18 or older by law.

  Cardboard to the baler, but only Marcos runs it. — El cartón a la prensa, pero solo Marcos la opera.

• barrel BAIR-ul ▶ EN
  tambo TAHM-boh ▶ ES

  The big rolling trash barrel used to collect from many cans before the dumpster run.

  Take the barrel down the east hall and pull every office can. — Lleva el tambo por el pasillo este y vacía todos los botes de las oficinas.

  Also: barril (general)

• cardboard KARD-bord ▶ EN
  cartón kahr-TOHN ▶ ES

  Boxes get broken down flat before they go in the recycling dumpster or baler.

  Break down the cardboard in receiving — flat, always. — Aplana el cartón de recibo — siempre plano.

• carry away from your body KAIR-ee uh-WAY frum yor BOD-ee ▶ EN
  cargar lejos del cuerpo kahr-GAHR LEH-hohs del KWEHR-poh ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Trash bags ride at arm's length — glass and needles poke through liners, and a bag hugged to your leg finds them.

  Carry it away from your body and out to the cart. — Cárgala lejos del cuerpo y llévala al carrito.

• compactor kum-PAK-tor ▶ EN
  compactador kohm-pahk-tah-DOHR ▶ ES Safety-critical

  The machine that crushes trash at the dock; authorized and trained operators only, never reach inside.

  The compactor is jammed — do not clear it yourself, call maintenance. — El compactador está atascado — no lo destrabes tú, háblale a mantenimiento.

  Also: prensa de basura (general)

• compost stream KOM-pohst streem ▶ EN
  composta del edificio kohm-POHS-tah ▶ ES

  The food-scraps bin some accounts run; compostable liners only, and it leaves the building daily or it smells.

  The cafeteria compost stream goes out every night, no exceptions. — La composta de la cafetería sale cada noche, sin excepciones.

• dock DOK ▶ EN
  andén ahn-DEN ▶ ES

  The loading dock where trash, recycling, and supplies move; watch the edge, watch the trucks, high-vis after dark.

  Stage the night's bags at the dock by 4, pickup is at 5. — Deja las bolsas de la noche en el andén a las 4, la recolección pasa a las 5.

• donation pile doh-NAY-shun payl ▶ EN
  lo que se dona loh keh seh DOH-nah ▶ ES

  Furniture and goods set aside during cleanouts for donation instead of the dumpster — only what the account marked; nothing else leaves the building.

  The chairs with green tags are the donation pile — everything untagged goes to the dumpster. — Las sillas con etiqueta verde son lo que se dona — todo lo demás va al contenedor.

• dumpster DUMP-ster ▶ EN
  contenedor kohn-teh-neh-DOHR ▶ ES

  The big outdoor bin; lids closed after every trip, area around it kept clean.

  The dumpster is full — stack the bags neatly beside it and note it for the office. — El contenedor está lleno — acomoda las bolsas a un lado y repórtalo a la oficina.

  Also: el dompe (MX)

• e-waste EE-wayst ▶ EN
  basura electrónica bah-SOO-rah eh-lek-TROH-nee-kah ▶ ES

  Computers, batteries, bulbs, toner — never in the regular trash; staged where the building's program says.

  Old monitors are e-waste — they go to the dock cage, not the compactor. — Los monitores viejos son basura electrónica — van a la jaula del andén, no al compactador.

• fluorescent tubes flor-ES-ent TOOBZ ▶ EN
  tubos fluorescentes TOO-bohs floo-oh-res-SEN-tehs ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Burned-out tubes contain mercury: boxed unbroken for recycling; a broken one gets ventilation and careful cleanup, not a vacuum.

  Stack the fluorescent tubes in the marked box — whole, not snapped to fit. — Acomoda los tubos fluorescentes en la caja marcada — enteros, no quebrados para que quepan.

• grease trap area GREES trap AIR-ee-ah ▶ EN
  área de la trampa de grasa AH-reh-ah deh lah TRAHM-pah deh GRAH-sah ▶ ES Safety-critical

  The slick zone around kitchen grease bins and traps; degreaser and caution — grease on concrete is ice.

  Hose and degrease the grease trap area — someone slides there every week. — Lava y desengrasa el área de la trampa de grasa — alguien se resbala ahí cada semana.

• hazardous waste HAZ-er-dus WAYST ▶ EN
  residuos peligrosos rreh-SEE-dwohs peh-lee-GROH-sohs ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Paint, chemicals, unknown liquids — never into the compactor or a drain; stage per the building's program and report unknowns.

  Half a can of paint in the trash pile — that's hazardous waste, set it aside and report it. — Media lata de pintura en el montón — eso es residuo peligroso, apártala y repórtala.

• liner size LAY-ner sayz ▶ EN
  medida de la bolsa meh-DEE-dah deh lah BOHL-sah ▶ ES

  Liners come by gallon size and thickness; the right size seats without a knot of wasted plastic, the right mil doesn't tear on the rim.

  Those are 33-gallon cans — stop putting 55-gallon liners in them. — Esos botes son de 33 galones — deja de ponerles bolsas de 55.

• never press trash down NEV-er PRES TRASH down ▶ EN
  nunca aprietes la basura NOON-kah ah-PRYEH-tehs lah bah-SOO-rah ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Hands never compress a trash bag — glass and needles go through liners and skin.

  Never press trash down with your hands — get a second bag instead. — Nunca aprietes la basura con las manos — mejor agarra otra bolsa.

• police the area poh-LEES thee AIR-ee-ah ▶ EN
  recoger el área rreh-koh-HEHR el AH-reh-ah ▶ ES

  Walk the grounds or lot picking up litter — the first impression job.

  Police the area around the entrance before the doors open. — Recoge el área de la entrada antes de que abran las puertas.

• pull the trash PUL thuh TRASH ▶ EN
  sacar la basura sah-KAHR lah bah-SOO-rah ▶ ES

  Empty the cans: pull the full liner, tie it, wipe the can if needed, drop in a new liner.

  Pull the trash in the offices before 6, they have a meeting. — Saca la basura de las oficinas antes de las 6, tienen junta.

• recycling ree-SAY-kling ▶ EN
  reciclaje rreh-see-KLAH-heh ▶ ES

  The separate stream for paper, cardboard, cans, and bottles; a contaminated bin gets rejected whole.

  Coffee cups go in trash, not recycling — they contaminate the load. — Los vasos de café van a la basura, no al reciclaje — contaminan la carga.

• recycling contamination ree-SAY-kling kun-tam-ih-NAY-shun ▶ EN
  contaminación del reciclaje kohn-tah-mee-nah-SYOHN del rreh-see-KLAH-heh ▶ ES

  Trash in the recycling stream — food, liquids, plastic bags; one bad bin can reject the whole pickup and the fee comes back to us.

  Someone dumped coffee in the paper bin — that's recycling contamination, it all goes to trash now. — Alguien tiró café en el bote de papel — eso es contaminación del reciclaje, ya todo se va a la basura.

• sharps SHARPS ▶ EN
  objetos punzocortantes ob-HEH-tohs poon-soh-kohr-TAHN-tehs ▶ ES Safety-critical

  Needles and blades; never grabbed by hand, never pushed into a bag — tongs and the sharps container.

  There's a needle by the bench — sharps protocol, get the container. — Hay una aguja junto a la banca — protocolo de punzocortantes, trae el contenedor.

  Also: agujas (general)

• shredder bin SHRED-er bin ▶ EN
  bote de papel confidencial BOH-teh deh pah-PEL kohn-fee-den-SYAHL ▶ ES

  The locked console for documents headed to shredding; never opened, never hand-sorted — the lock is the service.

  Paper on the floor by the shredder bin goes in through the slot, not in your barrel. — El papel tirado junto al bote confidencial se mete por la ranura, no a tu tambo.

• tie the bag TAY thuh BAG ▶ EN
  amarrar la bolsa ah-mah-RRAHR lah BOHL-sah ▶ ES

  Every pulled liner gets knotted before it travels — an open bag through a hallway leaves a trail you clean twice.

  Tie the bags at the can, not at the dumpster. — Amarra las bolsas en el bote, no hasta el contenedor.

• trash TRASH ▶ EN
  basura bah-SOO-rah ▶ ES

  The regular waste stream — pulled from every can, tied, and taken to the compactor or dumpster.

  Trash first on every floor, then dusting, then floors. — Primero la basura en cada piso, luego el sacudido y al final los pisos.

• trash chute TRASH shoot ▶ EN
  ducto de basura DOOK-toh deh bah-SOO-rah ▶ ES Safety-critical

  The vertical chute in high-rises; jams get reported to maintenance — never reach or climb in after one.

  The trash chute is jammed on 6 — report it, don't poke at it. — El ducto está atascado en el 6 — repórtalo, no le andes picando.

• trash room TRASH room ▶ EN
  cuarto de basura KWAHR-toh deh bah-SOO-rah ▶ ES

  The chute room or staging room; hosed, degreased, and deodorized on schedule — it is part of the account, not a dumping ground.

  Trash room wash-down is Thursday — move the barrels out first. — El lavado del cuarto de basura es el jueves — saca los tambos primero.

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