Dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs, that has fallen to the ground and may be used by animals as habitat or for nest-building, eventually decomposing and releasing nutrients into the soil.
Overburden: waste material generated while searching for minerals or while mining, such as when sinking a shaft.
Rubbish, waste matter.
Tailings: waste rock from which the wanted gold, minerals, opal, etc., has been extracted.
Nonsense, rubbish.
A mess; the result of a blunder.
To clear waste material out of a mine.