1.
scrap material; waste lumber; discarded construction material
Material — most commonly wood from demolished buildings or offcuts from construction and carpentry — that is no longer needed for its original purpose. Often emphasized in contexts of recycling, upcycling, or disposal, and extended to scrap metal, pallets, and other reusable leftovers.
Compound of 廃 ('discarded; obsolete') and 材 ('material; lumber'). Most typical referent is leftover or demolished wood, but the word also extends to discarded metal, concrete, pallets, and other construction byproducts.
Usage
- Appears frequently in contexts of construction, demolition, carpentry, and environmental discussion (recycling, zero-waste, upcycling).
- Does not carry a strong negative image — projects that reuse 廃材 are often praised as eco-friendly or creative.
- Usually treated as an uncountable mass noun, similar to 'scrap wood' in English.
Common collocations
- 廃材利用: reuse of scrap material
- 廃材処理: waste material disposal; scrap processing
- 廃材を活用する: to make use of scrap material
- 建築廃材: construction waste
- 木廃材: scrap wood
Similar words
- 廃棄物: waste; refuse — broader term covering all kinds of waste, including household trash.
- 端材: offcut; end scrap — small leftover pieces from cutting lumber, typically fresh from a workshop rather than from demolition.
- 古材: old lumber; reclaimed wood — salvaged wood valued for its aged character, often used in design.
- スクラップ: scrap (loanword) — most often used for metal scrap.