Polishing apparatus with a waste liquid receiver

A polishing apparatus comprising:

• a turntable which has a polishing pad attached thereto;
• a polishing head configured to hold a wafer;
• a tank configured to store a polishing agent;
• a polishing agent supply mechanism configured to supply the polishing agent stored in the tank to the polishing pad;
• a waste liquid receiver configured to collect the polishing agent supplied to the polishing pad, used during polishing, and flowing down from an upper side of the turntable;
• and
• a circulation mechanism which is connected to the waste liquid receiver and is configured to supply the polishing agent collected by the waste liquid receiver to the tank,
• wherein the polishing apparatus is configured such that, when a surface of the wafer held by the polishing head is rubbed against the polishing pad for polishing, the collected polishing agent from the waste liquid receiver is supplied to the tank to circulate the polishing agent, and
• wherein the waste liquid receiver is fixed to a side surface of the turntable and formed of a bottom plate and a side plate, and the side plate is removable from the bottom plate.