Can you cast a spell that requires a specific color of mana using mana from a Wastes?

Wastes is a basic land with no basic land type (it is not a Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest). Its activated ability produces {C} — one mana that is specifically colorless. Colorless mana is distinct from the five colors of mana.

When you pay a colored mana cost symbol such as {R} or {U}, you must use mana that matches that color. Per CR 202.2, a colored mana symbol requires mana of that specific color. Colorless mana ({C} or generic mana used as colorless) does not satisfy colored symbols under any normal circumstance (CR 107.4c).

Generic mana costs (like the {2} in a {2}{R} spell) can be paid with any type of mana, including colorless. So Wastes can help pay the {2} portion of a cost like {2}{R}, but it cannot pay the {R} portion.

Example: You control only a Wastes. You want to cast Lightning Bolt ({R}). Tapping the Wastes gives you {C}, but {C} cannot satisfy the {R} requirement. You cannot cast Lightning Bolt this way.

To use Wastes effectively for colored spells, you would need another mana source that produces the required color, or an effect that changes what color your mana produces (e.g., Chromatic Lantern).