Out of the following options, select the best one-word substitute for the phrase "search for and collect anything usable from discarded waste".

Introduction / Context:
This one-word substitute question focuses on a specific type of searching behaviour related to waste materials. The phrase search for and collect anything usable from discarded waste describes what certain animals, people, or even machines do when they look through garbage or scrap to find things that can still be used. You must identify the single verb that summarises this activity.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Phrase: search for and collect anything usable from discarded waste. - Options: Scavenge, Disperse, Dissipate, Scatter. - The context is moving through waste material to find useful items. - Only one option should refer to this specific type of searching.

Concept / Approach:
Scavenge means to search through waste, trash, or discarded material to find anything that can still be used or eaten. Animals like vultures and some people such as rag pickers are described as scavenging. The other options, disperse, dissipate, and scatter, all describe spreading things out or breaking them apart, which is the opposite action of gathering items from a pile of waste.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Restate the phrase as look through rubbish to find something useful. Step 2: Recall the verb scavenge, which is commonly used in environmental science and everyday language to describe exactly this behaviour. Step 3: Insert scavenge into the phrase to check the fit: People sometimes scavenge from rubbish dumps to find recyclable materials. Step 4: Examine Disperse, which means to spread in different directions or to break up a group, not to search carefully. Step 5: Look at Dissipate, which means to gradually disappear or waste energy, again unrelated to searching through waste for usable items. Step 6: Consider Scatter, which refers to throwing or spreading things over a wide area, the reverse of collecting from one place. Therefore, Scavenge is the correct one-word substitute.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine a sentence from a newspaper report: Poor families scavenge at the city dump for scraps of metal and plastic. Replacing scavenge with disperse or scatter would produce sentences where the families are spreading trash around, which is the opposite of collecting usable materials. Dissipate does not work here at all. Only scavenge preserves the meaning of searching and collecting from discarded waste.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Disperse describes moving things or people apart and is used in phrases like disperse a crowd. Dissipate means to gradually vanish or waste away, as in dissipate energy. Scatter describes throwing things so they land spread out, such as scattering seeds. None of these words involve searching and collecting items, which is central to the phrase given in the question.

Common Pitfalls:
Because all the distractor options relate to movement or spreading, some students may mistakenly think they are connected to waste handling. However, you should focus on who performs the action and for what purpose. Scavenging is done by someone who wants to find something useful in the waste, whereas dispersing or scattering describes what happens to the waste itself. Keeping the actor and goal in mind helps you select the correct verb.

Final Answer:
Scavenge is the correct one-word substitute for search for and collect anything usable from discarded waste.