Meaning of non-renewable in English:

non-renewable

adjective

1(of a contract or agreement) not able to be renewed.
‘a non-renewable 15-year term of office’
- ‘Many low-cost term-life-insurance policies expire and are nonrenewable when you turn 65.’
- ‘The advantage of long, and nonrenewable, terms is that the members of the second chamber would truly be independent in that nothing which they did could affect their continued membership.’
- ‘The other ten members of the council are elected by the General Assembly to two-year nonrenewable terms, with five new members elected each year.’
- ‘Similarly, the new International Criminal Court has nine-year, nonrenewable terms for judges.’
- ‘This is the last chance for the lame-duck president to shore up his legacy (his nonrenewable term ends in early 2003).’
- ‘The organization awards 11 non-renewable scholarships of $2,000 to children of full-time employees of firms that are members in good standing of NASGW.’
- ‘His family managed to obtain his release, but he was immediately shipped out of the country by the government, on a non-renewable passport with a one-year expiration date.’
- ‘The Board is composed of six Board Members, appointed by Council for a four-year, non-renewable term.’
- ‘The Commissioner is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly, the successful candidate serving a non-renewable term of six years.’
- ‘The president and vice-president and sixteen members of the eighty-member congress are elected by the nation as a whole for non-renewable four-year terms.’
- ‘Up until that point, nobody had informed me that my contract would be fixed term and non-renewable.’
2(of a natural resource or source of energy) existing in finite quantity; not capable of being replenished.
‘non-renewable fossil fuels’
- ‘Our primary source of energy - oil - is nonrenewable and exhaustible.’
- ‘These hidden gardens, protected by a strong street-facing facade, are oases for the office workers, producing a tempered microclimate while minimizing use of nonrenewable energy in very hot climates.’
- ‘These materials are all nonrenewable, require vast amounts of energy to manufacture and recycle and are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.’
- ‘Trees take longer to mature for harvest, and petroleum is, of course, nonrenewable.’
- ‘Plastics are highly energy-intensive and composed mostly of nonrenewable fossil fuels whose supplies are expected to become increasingly limited.’
- ‘In the name of saving nonrenewable energy sources, I plan to ride my bike down here regularly throughout the summer.’
- ‘Mesquite firewood purchased from local woodcutters replaces nonrenewable fossil fuels that must be purchased off the Reservation.’
- ‘Lastly, because natural gas is nonrenewable, reliance on it as a fuel offers meager benefits for long-term energy security.’
- ‘About 90 percent of U.S. electricity comes from nonrenewable sources, mainly fossil fuels and nuclear power.’
- ‘From the very beginning of the automobile age, industry analysts, following the lead of farsighted engineers, issued warnings about the reliance on a nonrenewable fuel source.’
- ‘The more we rely on renewable energy, the less dependent we are on utility giants and nonrenewable, polluting fossil fuels.’
- ‘The main source of hydrogen today is natural gas - a polluting and nonrenewable fossil fuel.’
- ‘These fuel sources are nonrenewable, even with aggressive replacement strategies in place.’
- ‘Unfortunately, conservation isn't the only response to the high cost of non-renewable resources.’
- ‘The project also has the added benefit of replacing non-renewable fossil fuels with a renewable agricultural-based fuel.’
- ‘Fossil fuels are the quintessential non-renewable natural resource.’
- ‘Steel is made from a non-renewable resource so we only have a limited amount to export.’
- ‘Hemp can replace many non-renewable resources as well as numerous processed and manufactured goods.’
- ‘The consumption of resources, including non-renewable energy, is but one factor facing the development industry right now.’
- ‘A community enters a danger zone when it relies on a non-renewable resource - even a huge gas field - for its basic needs of food and water.’
- ‘At present, 90 per cent of Saudi Arabia's non-renewable deep-well water is utilised for agricultural purposes.’
- ‘What motivates oil companies to act now is the simple fact that oil is a finite, non-renewable resource, and, depending on who you consult, is due to run out in 20, 50, or 100 years.’

noun

usually non-renewables

A non-renewable natural resource or source of energy.
‘sustainability of the supply of non-renewables such as gas is crucial’
- ‘Perhaps I shouldn't have cancelled the air-conditioning to cut our use of non-renewables.’
- ‘And inevitably the non-renewables will run out and we will be forced to use sustainable energy.’
- ‘Does he seriously see us moving to renewable resources while there are still non-renewables we can burn?’
- ‘Civilization's rocketing growth comes from exploiting non-renewables: coal since 1800 and oil since 1900, for example.’
- ‘Renewable raw materials bring obvious benefits compared with non-renewables, but it is important to look at how they are produced and processed.’
- ‘They would rather be running on wind power than contributing to the environmental problems associated with rampant use of non-renewables.’
- ‘Every project is part of his singular pursuit of a totally ecological architecture integrated with environment and climate, which reduces consumption of non-renewables and is energy efficient with reduced emissions.’
- ‘He proposes a future energy mix of 25% nuclear, 15% coal, 40% gas and 20% renewables by 2025 and argues that security and sustainability of supply of non-renewables such as gas is crucial.’
- ‘We must maintain the shift in balance between developing the non-renewables and the renewables sectors.’