'nonwasteful' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'non-' (ultimately from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') and 'wasteful' (from 'waste' + suffix '-ful').

'waste' comes from Old North French/Old French 'waste' (related to Vulgar Latin *vastare and Latin 'vastus' meaning 'empty' or 'devastated'); it entered Middle English as 'waste'. The adjective 'wasteful' developed by combining 'waste' with the suffix '-ful' in English; later the productive prefix 'non-' was attached to create 'nonwasteful' (or hyphenated 'non-wasteful').

Initially words in the 'vast-' family related to laying waste or emptiness; over time 'waste' came to mean misuse or loss of resources. 'Nonwasteful' therefore evolved to mean 'not causing waste' or 'economical' in modern usage.