1. Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention Assessment

2. Module Objective
Having read this, you should know the following:
Basic motivation and history of waste reduction and pollution prevention in manufacturing
What a generator and SQG are
The definition and good practices of waste reduction
How to perform a pollution prevention assessment and improvement using mass (& energy) balances.

3. Pollution prevention efforts are often mandated by legislation.
History
Practiced in industry, pollution prevention usually focuses on elimination of pollutants from existing products and process technologies
Pollution prevention and waste reduction procedures are predecessors to DFE and ECDM and are well established and well known in the US.
Initial impetus came from the 1960s when the US pollution became to high to bear in some locations and the US Environmental Protection Agency was formed.
Pollution prevention efforts are often mandated by legislation.
For example, US regulations require pollution prevention programs for companies emitting hazardous substances.

4. Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Chemicals
The following laws exemplify legislation about hazardous and/or toxic chemicals:
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP); Hazardous Air Emissions. Asbestos, beryllium, mercury, vinly chloride, benzene, arsenic, and radionuclides in general.
Clean Water Act; Priority Pollitants individual chemicals, including volatile organic substances, acid compounds, pesticides, heavy metals, etc.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); Hazardous Wastes. More than 400 discarded commercial chemical products and specific chemical constituents of industrial waste streams destined for treatment or disposal on land.
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title II, Section 313; Toxic subtances. More than 320 chemicals and chemical categories released into air, water and land. Under specified conditions, facilities must report releases of these chemicals to EPA's annual Toxics Release Inventory.
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Section 302; Extremely Hazardous Substances. More than 360 chemicals for which facilities are required to prepare emergency action plans if these chemicals are present at the facility above certain treshold quantities. Releases trigger required reporting by the facility to the State Emergency Response Committee (SERC) and the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) under SARA Section 304.

5. Regulatory compliance
Federal and state laws require all firms classified as hazardous waste generators or small quantity generators (SQGs) to implement a pollution prevention program to reduce the quantity of waste to the extent that it is economically feasible.
Small quantity generators are facilities that generate more than 100 kg/month but less than 1000 kg/month of hazardous waste.
A facility generating more than a 1000 kg/month is classified as a generator.
Firms permitted as hazardous waste generators are generally required under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to report sampling data on a regular basis. When hazardous wastes are minimized, the frequency of sampling and data reporting is also minimized.
If a disposal facility releases contaminants, then the original generators of the waste are also reponsible/liable for these releases under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

6. Regulatory Compliance Certification
Generators are required to sign the following statement:
Unless I am a small quantity generator who has been exempted by statute or regulation from the duty to make waste minimization certification under Section 3002(b) of RCRA, I also certify that I have a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste generated to the degree I have determined to be economically practicable, and I have selected the method of treatment, storage, or disposal currently available to me which minimizes the present and future threat to human health and the environment.

7. Who are Small Quantity Generators?
It is estimated that there are 600 to 700 thousand SQGs in the nation.
These businesses may generate as much as 940,000 metric tons of hazardous wastes annually.
These generators generally have fewer than 5 to 10 employees and are managed by persons with limited training in identification and management of hazardous wastes.
Technical Assistance Programs and some EPA grant programs are focused on SQGs.

8. SQG Industries and wastes
Spent solvents
Strong acids and alkalis
Photographic wastes
Dry cleaning filtration residues
Pesticide solutions
Waste formaldehyde
Empty pesticide containers
Ignitable wastes
Major Waste Types
Metal manufacturing
Photography
Ceramics
Construction
Textile manufacturing
Paper industry
Motor freight terminals
Wholesale and retail establishments
Analytical and chemical laboratories
Furniture/wood manufacturing and refinishng
Pesticide formulators, applicators and end-users
Cleaning agents and cosmetic manufacturing
Educational and vocational establishments
Vehicle maintenance
Printing
Dry cleaning
Equipment repair
Chemical manufacturing
Wood preserving
General manufacturing
Major Industry Groups – Small Quantity Generators

9. Waste Reduction – Definition and Good Practices

10. What is Waste Reduction?
Any activity that REDUCES or ELIMINATES the generation of waste AT THE SOURCE
Changes in:
Operating Practive
Technologies
Inputs
Products
Recycling
In process
In-Line
Closed-Loop

11. Good Operating Practices
Waste Minimization Programs
Management and Personnel Practices
Material Handling / Inventory Practice
Loss Prevention
Waste Segregation
Cost Accounting Practices
Production Scheduling

12. Equipment, layout or piping Automation Operating conditions
Technology Changes
Production process
Equipment, layout or piping
Automation
Operating conditions
Flow rates
Temperatures
Pressures
Residence times

13. Basic Material & Product Changes
Input Material Changes
Material purification
Material substitution
Product Changes
Product substitution
Product conservation
Product composition

14. Use and Reuse Return the material:
To the originating process as a substitute
To another process as an input

15. What is NOT Waste Reduction?
Dewatering
Dilution
Evaporation
Waste burning in industrial furnaces, boilers, cement kilns
Waste shifting
Off-site recycling
Any other end-of-pipe management

16. Procedure & Tools

17. Basic Assessment Flow Diagram

18. Used = amount in product + air emissions + wastewater + waste
Materials Balance
List the raw materials
How much is:
Used
In the product
Lost as air emissions
Lost in wastewater
Found in waste
Used = amount in product + air emissions + wastewater + waste

19. Materials Balance Example

20. Describe the Waste Is it: How much: An air emission?
A waste water discharge?
A sludge?
A liquid?
Mixed with other wastes?
A hazardous waste
How much:
Is generated in a year?
If in batches, how often and how much?

21. Describe the Waste Example

22. Electroplating In-Class Example
Draw a process flow chart for electroplating operation
Set up a basic material balance
Describe the wastes
Identify opportunities for waste reduction and pollution prvention

23. Industrial Examples

24. Waste Reduction by Dow Chemical
Several chemical process industries have compiled an outstanding record in minimizing waste generated at their facilities.
Dow Chemical is one example.
Dow takes a balanced approach to reducing environmental impact of operations with a focused effort on source reduction and recycling.
The environmental policy places a priority on waste and emission reduction, and environmental guidelin support the hierarchy of waste management, that is,
1) source reduction,
2) recycling,
3) treatment,
4) and land disposal as the last option
When efforts to reduce a waste stream either at the source or by recycing have not been successful, Dow (like many others) still has the responsibility to manage and treat the waste stream. Dow uses state-of-the art incineration and biological treatment facilities.

25. Waste Reduction Always Pays (WRAP)
Dow has implemented a WRAP program and an individual contact in each of its division.
The WRAP contacts design their activities around the following broad goals:
1) Reduce waste to the environment.
2) Give recognition for excellence.
3) Develop a pollution prevention mentality.
4) Provide support for pollution prevention projects.
5) Measure and track progress.
6) Strive for continuous improvement.
7) Reduce long term costs.

26. WRAP Implementation
The following iterative process is used to implement the WRAP program:
1) Inventory of all process loss to air, water, and land.
2) Identify the sources of those losses.
3) Prioritize reduction efforts.
4) Allocate resources and implementation projects.
5) Document and report progress.
6) Communicate progress internally and externally.
7) Plan for future reductions.

27. Polution Prevention Assessment (PPA) procedure (1)
EPA Waste Minimization Opportunity Assessment Manual (EPA/625/7-88/003)
Planning and organization
Get management commitment
Set overall assessment program goals
Organize assessment program task force
Assessment organization and commitment to proceed.
Assessment Phase:
Collect process and facility data.
Prioritize and select assessment tables.
Select people for assessment teams.
Review data and inspect sites.
Generate options.
Screen and select options for further study.
Select new assessment targets and reevaluate previous options.
Assessment report of selected options.

28. Polution Prevention Assessment (PPA) procedure (2)
Feasibility Analysis Phase:
Technical evaluation.
Economic evaluation.
Select options for implementation.
Final report, including recommended options.
Implementation:
Justify Projects and obtain funding.
Installation (equipment).
Implementation (procedure).
Evaluate performance.
Repeat the process

29. Focusing Your Efforts

30. Criteria for selecting principal waste streams
The following criteria can be used to identify principal waste streams:
Composition
Quantity
Toxicity of wastes
Method and cost of disposal
Compliance status
Potential for minimization
Priorization of waste streams to be tackled should also include consideration of available budget for the PPA
The best means for identifying information on all waste streams is the use of flow diagrams and, then, material balances.

31. Technical Evaluation of Options
When evaluating the options for minimizing waste streams, the following technical criteria should be considered:
Technical reliability
System safety
Product quality maintenance
Space requirements
Compatibility of proposed system with existing systems
Downtime necessary for installation
Special expertise requirements
Labor and utility requirements
For economic evaluation, make a break-down in
capital cost
operating cost

32. Economic Evaluation
For economic evaluation, make a break-down in capital cost and operating cost/savings.
Capital costs include:
fixed capital cost for designing, purchasing, and installation equipment
cost for working capital, permitting, training, start-up, and financing charges.
Operating costs and savings:
reduction in waste treatment, storage and disposal
raw material cost savings
insurance and liability savings
increased cost or savings associated with product quality
decreased or increased use of utilities
decreased or increased revenues from changes in production of marketable by-products.

33. Profitability
If capital cost and operational costs/savings are known, then profitability can be calculated.
Also consider that violation of environmental regulations may result in shut-down and criminal penalties.
Rule:
Options requiring no capital investment should be implemented as soon as possible.

34. The Problem with Pollution Prevention and End-of-Pipe Approaches