Compaction

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Compaction is the process of a material being more closely packed together. A compactor is a device that performs compaction.

Compaction is often used to reduce the size of waste material. Garbage compactors and waste collection vehicles compress waste so that more of it can be stored in the same space. It is compacted again, more thoroughly, at the landfill to preserve valuable space.

Compaction is also part of the geological process of lithification, in which sediments are gradually compacted into sedimentary rocks. First the sediment is deposited and settles. More sediment is deposited, which increases the pressure, causing compaction. Pore space and fluids are gradually reduced as sediment above increases. Cementation, where dissolved mineral components deposit in the remaining spaces in the sediment, binding it together, is the final step in lithification.

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