Business Assistance

Pollution Prevention (P2)

Overview

Pollution Prevention (P2) means reducing or eliminating pollution at the source so that it never enters the environment in the first place. Instead of managing pollution after it has been created or at the "end of the pipe," P2 focuses on first eliminating waste; then if the waste can't be eliminated, try to find ways to reduce either the amount or toxicity of the waste. If the waste can't be eliminated or reduced, then try to identify a way to reuse the waste in your process. Lastly, after trying to eliminate, reduce, or reuse the waste, the next option is recycling.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Dispose

Top

Rio Tinto

In 2008 Rio Tinto completed a pilot project to reduce idling time, fuel use, particulate matter, and greenhouse gas emissions in fleet vehicles.

The goals of the project included:

measuring idle time to establish a baseline;
developing a vehicle operator education plan; and,
measuring improvements and reductions in idle time.

A total of 18 light- and medium-duty vehicles and 10 large heavy mobile equipment vehicles were included in the pilot project. By the end of the pilot project, idling was reduced, on average, by 59%, resulting in a reduction of 423 tons of CO2, 14,871 pounds of NOx, and 1.71 pounds of SO2.

P2 Benefits

Every company generates waste. For some companies, it may be cardboard or waste paper or using energy, water, and raw materials inefficiently; in other cases it may be hazardous or toxic wastes that require expensive handling and disposal.

Regardless of the type of waste, it all affects your company's bottom line. Any company, regardless of size or type, can benefit from pollution prevention by:

Improving Worker Safety and Company Liability
Decreasing Regulatory Obligations
Using Energy, Raw Materials, and Natural Resources More Efficiently
Promoting the Development of P2 Technologies
Saving Money
Enhancing Your Image in the Community

Top

Get Started

Step 1: Determine what your wastes are, including hazardous wastes, non-hazardous wastes, solid wastes, and office wastes. Take a look at your energy and water consumption and look for high and low usage periods in your bills.

Step 2: Characterize your waste streams by determining where the waste comes from, what processes generate it, and how much is being discarded.

Step 3: Evaluate all or some wastes for possible elimination or reduction using the following pollution prevention methods:

Good Housekeeping—Rethinking day-to-day operations and maintenance activities to help identify wastes. Inspect and maintain your equipment, repair seals and stop leaks right away. Use tight fitting lids on volatile substances to prevent evaporation. Use spigots and pumps rather than pouring and use drip pans to catch excess materials.
Process Changes—Evaluate manufacturing processes to identify ways to reduce production wastes. For example, consider cutting the number of processes, switching from a chemical to a mechanical process, or introducing closed-loop processing.
Materials Substitution—Work with your suppliers to identify less hazardous or toxic materials for cleaning, coating, and lubricating to prevent costly hazardous waste disposal fees, air emissions, and worker health risks.
Materials Reuse—Re-use waste in the same process or consider selling the waste to another company as a raw material.
Resource Efficiency—Using energy, water, and other natural resources more efficiently helps keep our air and water clean and helps reduce operating costs.
Design—Products, building and manufacturing systems can be made resource-efficient throughout their life cycle by incorporating environmental attributes into their design.

Step 4: Identify one or two pollution prevention opportunities that are easy to implement, have low capital investment, save you money, and reduce significant amounts of waste. Build on your initial successes little by little over a period of time once you gain support and credibility.

Step 5: Provide information on your company's successes to staff and with your community. Your pollution prevention projects can be an effective marketing opportunity.

Top

Help From DEQ

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) can provide resources, such as fact sheets, case studies, and on-site visits to Utah companies that are interested in improving their overall environmental performance.

Top

Contact

For more information contact Paul Harding: 801-536-4108.

Top

Revised: November 3, 2009

The mission of the Department of Environmental Quality is to safeguard human health and quality of life by protecting and enhancing the environment.