生活垃圾

shēng huó lā jī

domestic garbage

shēng

to be born

huó

to live

used in 垃圾[la1 ji1]

used in 垃圾[la1 ji1]

life (生) + living (活) + garbage (垃圾) = domestic garbage

This compound refers specifically to household waste - the refuse that accumulates from daily living activities. The earth radical in both garbage characters hints at disposal into the ground, while their phonetic components mainly provide the sounds lā and jī.