Preventing Use
7. One who causes a situation where no one can use an item transgresses bal tashchis even if he does not physically destroy it and it remains in existence, e.g., he threw something into the sea and no one can use it anymore (תו' קידושין ל"ב. ד"ה רב יהודה ).
Indirectly Destroying
8. One who indirectly destroys an item also transgresses the issur of bal tashchis, e.g., he destroyed a tree by preventing the water in an irrigation canal from reaching it (ספרי פ' שופטים, שו"ת אבני צדק סי' מ"ה, הגרמ"י פארהאנד בספרו הנפלא ברכת השם סי' ב' אות ט').
Passively Destroying
9. One only transgresses bal tashchis if he does an act of destroying. If he merely does not prevent something from getting ruined, e.g., there is food left in a place where it will spoil and he does not put it somewhere else to preserve it, he does not transgress the issur (חזו"א חי' הרמב"ם פ"ו ממלכים, שו"ת אג"מ יו"ד ח"ב ס י' קע"ד ד"ה וכן ).
10. Fresh food. Thus, if one has food and buys or prepares a different fresh food, causing the first food to go bad, he does not transgress bal tashchis since he did not actively ruin it.
11. Part of a fruit. Similarly, if one only needs part of a fruit, he may cut off that part even though the rest will go bad since his act is not an act of destroying (שו"ת בית יעקב סי' מ"ב ).
12. Leaving candle lit, light on. If one lit a candle or turned on a light for some purpose and did not extinguish it or turn it off afterward, since his original usage had a purpose, he did not transgress the issur. Not turning the light off or extinguishing the candle is not a transgression since it is not an act of destroying.
13. Opened package of food or drink. If one opened a package of food or a drink for a purpose, even if he does not need all of it and some will go to waste, he does not transgress bal tashchis since he was allowed to open it and did not actively ruin the rest.
Normal to Throw Away
14. Disposables. There is no issur of bal tashchis to throw away things that are normally disposed of after use, e.g., disposable dishes, even if they can be used again. Since they are not meant to be used anymore, throwing them away is not an act of destroying (ברכת השם סי’ ב' אות כ"ב ).
15. Bottles with deposit refund. Empty drink bottles are normally thrown away. Even in places where one can get some money by returning bottles to specific locations, there is no issur of bal tashchis to throw them away since bottles have neither monetary value [“shoveh kesef”] nor inherent value [“gufo momon”]; they merely can cause one to get money (ע"פ ברכת השם סי' ב' אות ל"ט ).
Used Clothes
16. Unfit to be worn. There is no issur of bal tashchis to throw away used clothes that are no longer fit to be worn or are torn in such a way that they would not be mended nowadays. Even if they can still technically be worn or used, since they are not normally saved and have no value, there is no issur of bal tashchis (שם ).
17. Fit to be worn. If one has clothes he does not wear but that are fit to be worn, e.g., clothes outgrown by children, out-of-season clothes, or old shoes that are still fit for use, and he does not have room to keep them in the house, lechatchiloh he should try to give them away to someone or to a clothes gemach; perhaps they will prove useful to someone (רבינו ירוחם ח"ב נתיב ל"א ח"ו, שע"ת לר"י שע"ג אות פ"ב ).
18. If one has clothes that are fit to be worn but cannot find anyone to take them, he may be mafkir them and leave them next to a dumpster since that is not an act of destroying; perhaps someone will take them (שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"ט סי' קנ"ט ). It would seem this would not even be considered indirectly destroying (above, 8) since putting something by the dumpster does not automatically cause it to be wasted. Someone else must first come and put it into the dumpster, from where it will eventually be taken to be burned, etc.
