Pollution Prevention at Work
We can eliminate or reduce hazardous and non-hazardous waste at the workplace. Pollution Prevention is a practical, proactive means of protecting human health and the environment that can be cost effective as well.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality, through the EPA Pollution Prevention Incentives for States Program, has established a non-regulatory program to assist businesses and citizens with pollution prevention.
How to Begin:
- Develop a Policy - Management support is essential to the initiation and success of your program.
- Train Your Employees - Employee understanding and commitment are vital to pollution prevention programs.
- Substitute Raw Materials - Non-hazardous or less toxic materials can sometimes be substituted for hazardous ones to reduce or eliminate hazardous waste generation.
- Manage Your Inventory Wisely -
- Buy only what you will use
- Rotate inventory so older material is used first
- Store materials to prevent spills or leaks and contain them if they occur
- Set up an inventory tracking system
- Label all containers with contents and date
- Don't accept free samples you won't use
- Segregate Wastes - Mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste increases the volume of hazardous waste and reduces management options, so keep them separate.
- Modify Your Process and Equipment - Old or inefficient processes and equipment often account for excess use of toxic substances and unnecessary hazardous waste generation. Often, the energy and material savings can pay for new equipment in a matter of months. Do an energy/materials audit on your old machines and compare results to equivalent new units. Remember, after the savings pay for the machines, they turn into profits.
- Use Good Housekeeping Practices - Inspect and maintain your equipment, repair seals and stop leaks right away. Use tight fitting lids on volatile substances to prevent evaporation and waste. Mopping up spills as opposed to hosing them down saves water and helps control where waste ends up. Use spigots and pumps rather than pouring and use drip pans to catch excess materials. Turn off lights and cut heat/air conditioning during off hours and weekends.
- Reuse and Recycle - Onsite use and reuse of waste materials reduces the amount of waste generated. Recycle excess material back into the production process. Filter and reuse liquids or purchase a distillation or recovery unit to reprocess waste. Join a waste exchange and send waste offsite for recycling.
- Provide Incentives to Employees - Provide incentives for employees to find new ways to prevent waste and increase efficiency. Create a vanpool or rideshare program. Encourage the use of public transportation and explore telecommuting and flex-time options when feasible.
What's the Payoff?
Commitment to pollution prevention can help workplaces meet environmental regulatory obligations, improve the company's public image and employee morale, and permit economic savings with less inventory or waste storage expenses, transportation costs, reporting burdens and insurance liability.
It is impossible to minimize waste without saving money!
