Raw wool contains a significant amount of impurities including wool wax, suint (water-soluble material), mineral and organic dirt and vegetable matter. Most of these impurities are removed in the scouring process.

The waste streams can broadly be defined under three categories:

• Strong flow down which is comprised of flows from the heavy solids loops and wool wax recovery plant. It contains high concentrations of water soluble (suint), solvent soluble (wool wax) and dirt in a stable emulsion.
• The rinse water which contains primarily low levels of dirt but comprises about two thirds of the liquid waste volume (6 - 7 l/kg greasy wool).
• Dry wastes, including the material removed from the wool by the various opening operations and fibre removed by strainers in the contaminant recovery loop such as dirt, short fibres, dag material and some vegetable matter.