Criteria are determined that can be applied to recognize waste as economic resources. The criteria for recognition of waste as economic resources include the following: the existence of property rights, the possibility of sale, the receipt of economic benefits and the environmental effect. These criteria are the basis of a new understanding of this economic concept and the basis for shaping the behavior of economic agents in waste management. The proposed criteria have a significant impact on the formation of the accounting system for waste and waste management operations. The place of waste in the environmental safety management system is substantiated on the basis of determining the process of its generation at all stages of economic activity of an industrial organization and the directions of its management both at the internal and inter-economy level. A waste classification matrix is developed for identification and recognition purposes, which makes it possible to form an information space as the basis for making management decisions in the field of environmental safety of industrial organizations.