reclamation
Restoring to usefulness
Reclamation is the act of reclaiming—recovering something lost, abandoned, or degraded.
Land reclamation converts unusable terrain into productive ground: draining swamps, irrigating deserts, or restoring strip-mined areas.
Water reclamation treats wastewater for reuse.
The word also applies to salvaging materials: metal reclamation from electronic waste.
More abstractly, reclamation describes recovering identity or dignity: the reclamation of Indigenous languages.
Waste burial ground
- drainageLiquid removal system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- polderDiked tract below sea level
- leveeRiver flood barrier
dike · embankment · terrace · dredging · excavation · grading · fill · topsoil
Recovering damaged goods
- scrapDiscarded bit or tussle
- metalsLustrous conductive elements
- recyclingReprocessing used materials
- repurposingAdapting for different use
upcycling · recovery · extraction · processing · refining · reuse · waste · industrial
Act of correcting faults
- cleanupRestoration of order
- brownfieldPreviously developed, possibly polluted land
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
decontamination · restoration · mitigation · toxins · hazardous · soil · groundwater · bioremediation
Inherited cultural legacy
- cultureCollective social practices
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- languageSystem of symbolic communication
- indigenousOriginating in a region
sovereignty · autonomy · empowerment · dignity · pride · ancestry · roots · history
Removing terrain layers for ore
- quarryPit for extracting rock
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
- spoilDamage or overindulge
rehabilitation · revegetation · backfilling · grading · erosion · runoff · subsidence · pit
Artificial water supply for agriculture
- desalinationExtracting salt from seawater
- wastewaterContaminated drainage from buildings
- greywaterLight household wastewater
- treatmentCare for an ailment
purification · reuse · recycling · aquifer · reservoir · drought · arid · conservation
landfill
Waste burial ground
- drainageLiquid removal system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- polderDiked tract below sea level
levee · dike · embankment · terrace · dredging · excavation · grading · fill · topsoil · wetlands
salvage
Recovering damaged goods
repurposing · upcycling · recovery · extraction · processing · refining · reuse · waste · industrial · demolition
remediation
Act of correcting faults
- cleanupRestoration of order
- brownfieldPreviously developed, possibly polluted land
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
pollution · decontamination · restoration · mitigation · toxins · hazardous · soil · groundwater · bioremediation · leachate
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- cultureCollective social practices
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- languageSystem of symbolic communication
indigenous · sovereignty · autonomy · empowerment · dignity · pride · ancestry · roots · history · narrative
strip-mining
Removing terrain layers for ore
- quarryPit for extracting rock
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
spoil · rehabilitation · revegetation · backfilling · grading · erosion · runoff · subsidence · pit · excavation
irrigation
Artificial water supply for agriculture
- desalinationExtracting salt from seawater
- wastewaterContaminated drainage from buildings
- greywaterLight household wastewater
treatment · purification · reuse · recycling · aquifer · reservoir · drought · arid · conservation · efficiency
- water resourcesfreshwater, aquifers, water supply, water storage, aquifer
- Gold RushCalifornia Gold Rush, gold miners, gold mining, gold flakes, gold nuggets
- Post-Apocalypsewasteland, fallout, survivors, apocalypse, collapse
- utilitieselectricity, water supply, public utilities, water line, gas service
- Coal Miningcoal mines, miners, coal seam, coal miners, underground mines
- LGBTQgay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer
reclamationdestruction
Act of completely ruining
abandonment · devastation · degradation · desertification · ruination
reclamationloss
Being without something
forfeiture · surrender · relinquishment · abandonment · misplacement
reclamationdamnation
Eternal punishment decree
corruption · degradation · fall from grace · moral decay · perdition
- land reclamationCreating ground from water
- cultural reclamationRecovering suppressed group traditions