detritus

Until recently, antimony, which is often found in gold mines, was treated as detritus by gold miners.

Like many people, my garage and closets are littered with the detritus of modern life—from stacks of paperbacks and fancy china to a fussy tea maker, still swaddled in its box.

Bulldozers are clearing roads, shovelling the detritus of war into waiting trucks.

All appear free from the layer of phytoplankton detritus covering the nearby seabed -- a sharp contrast easily seen in the central portion of the image.

In April, Bass announced the launch of Shine L.A., a beautification program that sends ordinary Angelenos out with shovels, gloves and trash bags to remove detritus from streets and sidewalks.