waste product

American  

noun

1. material discarded as useless in the process of producing something.

2. feces, urine, and other material excreted in the life process.

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waste product Scientific  

1. An unusable or unwanted substance or material produced during or as a result of a process, such as metabolism or manufacturing.

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Etymology

Origin of waste product

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The main solid waste product is phosphogypsum, which the plant discharges into the Mediterranean.

From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025

The battery brining liquid is a hazardous waste product too and is trucked to another specialized facility, the agency said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2025

“We're taking a waste product that's being produced by society and we're mining the gold from that waste product and starting to see the value in that finite resource.”

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2024

The Cambridge researchers found that used cement is an effective substitute for lime flux, which is used in steel recycling to remove impurities and normally ends up as a waste product known as slag.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2024

Unfortunately, as the doctor appears not to have known, lead is not excreted as a waste product.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson