1. A mass of timbers built into the bow and stern of a vessel to give solidity.
2. Dead trees or branches; useless material.
3. Unproductive workers. dead wood

ETYM Old Eng. waste; cf. the kindred as. westen, Old High Germ. westî, wuostî, German wüste. Related to Waste.
(Homonym: waist).
1. Any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted; SYN. waste material, waste matter, waste product.
2. Useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly; SYN. wastefulness, dissipation.
3. (Law) Reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect; SYN. permissive waste.
Materials that are no longer needed and are discarded. Examples are household waste, industrial waste (which often contains toxic chemicals), medical waste (which may contain organisms that cause disease), and nuclear waste (which is radioactive). By recycling, some materials in waste can be reclaimed for further use. In 1990 the industrialized nations generated 2 billion metric tons of waste. In the us, 40 metric tons of solid waste are generated annually per person, roughly twice as much as in Europe or Japan.
There has been a tendency to increase the amount of waste generated per person in industrialized countries, particularly through the growth in packaging and disposable products, creating a “throwaway society”.