Translation guide
The English term "waste material" refers to unwanted or unusable substances left over from a process. In Japanese, the most common equivalent is 廃棄物 (haikibutsu), but the best choice depends on context: industrial waste, household garbage, bodily waste, or figurative waste.
Unwanted materials from manufacturing, construction, or general disposal.
The standard term for waste materials, especially in legal, industrial, or environmental contexts. Covers solid, liquid, and gaseous waste.
The disposal of waste material from factories has become a problem.
Specifically waste materials from construction, demolition, or manufacturing (scrap wood, metal, etc.).
We recycle waste material from the construction site.
Unwanted items or materials, often still usable but no longer needed. Common in household or office contexts.
I disposed of waste material (unwanted items) when moving.
Everyday waste from homes, such as kitchen scraps, packaging, etc.
Waste products from the human body or medical procedures.
Formal term for bodily waste (feces, urine). Used in medical or caregiving contexts.
Care is needed when handling patients' waste material.
Metabolic waste products in the body, such as those filtered by the kidneys. Also used figuratively for unnecessary things.
Something considered worthless or unnecessary, often in a metaphorical sense.
Literally 'useless things'. Used when talking about waste in a non-physical sense, like wasted effort or resources.
That meeting was a waste of time (waste material of time).
Waste, scrap, or discarded material. Can be used figuratively for something obsolete or worthless.
廃棄物 (haikibutsu) is a formal, technical term often used in legal or industrial contexts. ごみ (gomi) is the everyday word for trash or garbage. Use ごみ for household waste and 廃棄物 for official documents or industrial waste.
Directly translating 'waste material' as 無駄な材料 (muda na zairyō) sounds unnatural. Instead, choose the appropriate term based on context: ごみ for trash, 廃棄物 for industrial waste, etc.
生ごみは臭いが出るので早めに捨ててください。
Please throw away kitchen waste material quickly because it smells.
The kidneys filter waste material from the blood.
その古い機械はもう廃物同然だ。
That old machine is practically waste material.