Waste Reduction Activities of Selected WasteWise Partners: Electric Power Industry

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FOREWORD
rasteWile is a voluntary partnership
program aimed at reducing munic-
ipal solid waste. Partners set waste
prevention and recycling goals, as well as goals
for buying or manufacturing products with recy-
cled content. Each year, partners report on their
progress in meeting waste reduction goals to
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In 1996, WasteWi$e began a study of solid
waste reduction practices within the electric util-
ity industry, through a combination of site visits,
interviews, and literature reviews. This report
highlights some of the most effective and innov-
ative solid waste reduction activities
implemented by the industry. While EPA consid-
ers coal ash to be an industrial waste as
opposed to municipal solid waste, this report
also documents ways utility partners are reduc-
ing coal ash. EPA included this waste stream in
the report because partners have undertaken
innovative waste reduction efforts in this area
and because coal ash constitutes such a large
portion of the utility waste stream.

During the study, WasteWi$e worked with the
following partner utilities: Baltimore Gas &
Electric, Commonwealth Edison, Florida Power
Corporation, Florida Power & Light, Illinois
Power, Northeast Utilities, Northern States Power,
Pacific Gas & Electric, Pennsylvania Power &
Light, and Public Service Electric & Gas.

This report was compiled with the assistance of
the Edison Electric Institute, a WasteWi$e
endorser. Edison Electric Institute helped select
the utilities profiled and reviewed the content of
this report prior to publication.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
.1
Chapter 1
Making Waste Reduction a Success 2

Chapter 2
Waste Reduction Opportunities:
Generating Stations 4

Chapter 3
Waste Reduction Opportunities:
Distribution and Transmission 7

Chapter 4
Waste Reduction Opportunities: Investment
Recovery and Warehouse Operations 11

Chapter 5
Additional Opportunities for
Waste Reduction 14

Conclusion 16

Appendix: WasteWi$e Utility Partner Profiles
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CHAPTER 1
MAKING WASTE REDUCTION A SUCCESS
*Hlhe U.S. electric power industry is

undergoing a series of changes

fueled, in part, by the move toward

deregulation. Traditionally, utilities have been

heavily regulated, but impending deregula-

tion is prompting these utilities to closely

examine their operations and seek opportu-

nities to improve efficiency. Utilities are

merging, consolidating vendors, reducing

their labor and compliance costs, and seek-

ing new profit centers to remain competitive.
Solid waste management is an area many utilities are
examining. Waste reduction initiatives are helping utili-
ties to reduce purchasing, transportation, and disposal
costs, as well as to conserve resources. Many utilities
have been recycling scrap metal and other materials for
years; however, the more ambitious programs covered in
this report emphasize waste prevention activities such as
reconditioning and reuse of materials. In fact, waste pre-
vention programs are now integral to many utilities'
strategic business plans.
Waste prevention—eliminating waste before it is cre-
ated—is the hallmark of the WasteWi$e program.
Partner organizations, including utilities, assess their
current operations to identify areas where waste can be
prevented, establish waste prevention goals, and then
take action to achieve those goals.
Based on the experiences of WasteWi$e partners,
including utilities, manufacturers, and service providers,
three key elements are necessary for a successful solid
waste reduction program:
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Making Wasfe Reduction a Success
• Obtaining corporate support. Solid waste and recy-
cling program managers all agree: the biggest sav-
ings and efficiencies are achieved when manage-
ment asks all employees across all operations to
commit to waste reduction.
• Involving company employees in all phases of the
waste reduction campaign. Several partners achieve
a high level of employee participation by offering
innovative incentives and rewards for employees
who contribute to the success of company waste
reduction efforts.
• Tracking and measuring waste reduction progress.
Many partners discovered that tracking progress
helps to justify their program to senior management
and stockholders and enhances productivity among
utility employees.

Solid Waste Management and
Utilities
Before developing or expanding a waste reduction pro-
gram, solid waste and recycling managers should first
assess their operations to identify unique opportunities
for waste prevention. While some waste prevention
techniques are applicable to all utilities, opportunities
are often unique to specific utilities, operations, or geo-
graphic regions. To uncover some of these unique
opportunities, solid waste and recycling managers
should examine the following questions:
• How are waste management costs currently being
allocated? What corporate, division, or facility incen-
tives are in place to encourage waste reduction?
Utilities that allocate waste disposal costs to individual
divisions or facilities, as opposed to general overhead
or environmental affairs accounts, create an incentive
for employees of that division to reduce waste.
What level of involvement can be offered to the
service area? Can a cost-effective centralized
collection system for recyclables be established?
If recycling is part of the corporate philosophy, hav-
ing a mechanism in place to frequendy drop off
and pick up materials from power plants, substa-
tions, and other field offices helps determine the
profitability of recycling and reuse programs.
Centralized collection systems are often more suc-
cessful in smaller service areas.

Do local markets exist for selling reusable materi-
als or recyclables? Strong local markets are often
rich with customers interested in either purchasing,
or hauling away at no cost, materials a utility previ-
ously paid to dispose of.
Report Overview
This report details the numerous waste prevention,
recycling, and buying recycled programs many utilities
have already implemented. Also highlighted are factors
influencing the decision-making process within the util-
ity industry, approaches utility solid waste and recycling
managers are taking to overcome barriers and obstacles,
and efforts being undertaken to find waste reduction
solutions for several difficult solid waste streams. The
success stories featured here can help other utilities
develop programs to reduce their solid waste costs
through waste prevention, reuse and refurbishment
activities, recycling efforts, and by donating materials to
outside groups and organizations.
The remainder of this report is organized according to
the functional areas in which waste is generated at utili-
ties. These areas include generation, distribution and
transmission, warehouse, fleet, and administrative offices.
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CHAPTER 2
WASTE REDUCTION OPPORTUNITIES:
GENERATING STATIONS
I he type and quantity of waste

generated by an electric utility

depends on station configuration,

size, and age, as well as the type of fuel

used to generate power. For coal-fired

power plants, the largest and most costly

solid waste stream to manage is ash. Each

year, nearly 90 million tons of bottom and

fly ash, flue gas desulfurization sludge, and

boiler slag are generated at coal-fired

plants. To understand the magnitude of this

waste stream, picture filling the Houston

Astrodome nearly 369 times!
"With an average management cost of $12 per ton1,
handling ash waste is an expensive operation. Yearly ash
management costs can run as high as $20 million, espe-
cially for large utilities such as Pennsylvania Power and
Light (PP&L), which generates more than 1 million
tons of ash per year.
One method for managing ash is to mix it with water
to create a resulting slurry that is then pumped to a de-
watering impoundment. This management method is
very expensive, particularly when new impoundments
are required. Taking into account the costs for labor,
land, and regulatory requirements, a new de-watering
impoundment can cost upwards of several million dol-
lars. In addition, this wet management method limits
the reuse potential of the ash. One way utilities are
addressing the costs of wet management is by switching
to dry ash handling systems, which use air to vacuum
the ash and blow it into storage silos. By converting to
dry ash handling systems, PP&L avoided building new
wet ash disposal units, for a net savings of $14 million.
PP&L anticipates additional savings through the sale of
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Wbsfe Reduction Opportunities: Generating Stations
the ash since dry ash is a more marketable commodity
and can be readily sold as an alternative to Portland
cement, flowable fill, and blasting grit.
Ash reuse programs do not need to generate large
amounts of revenue to be both environmentally benefi-
cial and financially sound corporate investments.
Avoiding ash management costs is incentive enough to
establish a reuse program. Utilities that choose to
aggressively seek markets and opportunities for reusing
their ash avoid significant ash management costs and
can often generate revenue from the sale of ash.

Coal Ash Reuse Opportunities
There are numerous uses for coal fly ash, including as
an alternative to Portland cement, as blasting grit, or as
structural and flowable fill. Most of the utility compa-
nies interviewed in this report market fly ash as an alter-
native to Portland cement in the production of concrete.
Another common practice implemented by utility com-
panies, such as Northeast Utilities and Illinois Power
(IP), is to market bottom ash for the production of
asphalt pavement, roofing, and roofing shingles. Other
common uses for ash include roadway antiskid material
(road deicer), drainage materials, and sand for onsite
septic systems. In 1995, Northeast Utilities reused thou-
sands of tons of fly ash, generating $579,000 in avoided
disposal and purchasing costs. Florida Power
Corporation (FPC) facilitates the reuse of nearly all of
its fly ash for the construction of concrete products. In
1995, FPC reduced 430,000 tons of fly ash waste by
putting it in these products.
Several companies use or sell bottom ash as blasting
grit for cleaning metal and other items. Northeast
Utilities saves $2.6 million annually in avoided disposal
costs by bagging bottom ash on site and selling it to
end-users as a blasting grit for paint and rust removal.
In 1994, one Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) power
plant marketed 21,000 tons of bottom ash for reuse
as blasting grit.
BGE found a way to reuse its fly and bottom ash for
structural fill. In 1995, the utility sold and reused more
than 3 million tons of ash in a variety of highway, office
and industrial park, and utility projects. With numerous
road and bridge construction projects currently under-
way in the state of Maryland, BGE is expanding its mar-
keting effort to find uses for ash in road embankments.
BGE also uses ash as a component in flowable fill. By
combining ash with other elements, the company creates
a controlled low-strength material. In addition to using
the fill for nonstructural applications, such as backfilling
around gas lines, BGE sells it as a replacement for com-
pacted soil. This material has been used in projects to fill
underground storage tanks and missile silos.

PP&L generated more than 1 million tons of coal ash
in 1995—enough to cover a football field to a depth of
400 feet. As a disposal alternative, PP&L mixes hydrat-
ed lime with its fly ash to create a new chemically stable
alternative to soil-based fill. The resulting product,
Stabil-Fill, initially was used for onsite construction dur-
ing renovation and expansion to build a coal pile liner
and to raise storage areas and roads to prevent stormwa-
ter flooding. PP&L estimates that one of its facilities
saved $700,000 in avoided purchasing costs by using
Stabil-Fill for construction purposes rather than pur-
chasing material from an outside source. Stabil-Fill is
also marketed outside the company and has been used
to backfill coal mines, in the construction of airport
runways and roads, in industrial sites, and as a base for
ready-mix concrete.

New markets for ash reuse are constantly being devel-
oped. Ash use is being evaluated for a number of prod-
ucts, such as sports equipment, insulation, automobile
bodies, marine craft bodies, paints, coatings, and fire
and heat protection devices. Ash use also shows promise
in mine reclamation, as a soil amendment, and in the
manufacture of tires and wallboard.
Factors That Impact Ash Reuse
Efforts

Utilities considering creating or expanding an ash reuse
program should take into account the following factors:
• How much ash is generated? The goal of ash reuse
programs is to avoid disposal costs; however, it is
usually not cost-effective to transport and manage
the third-party costs associated with handling small
amounts of ash. Utilities generating modest
amounts of ash should consider onsite reuse oppor-
tunities or other ways to break even. Public Service
Electric & Gas (PSE&G), for example, generates a
relatively small amount of coal ash—60,000 tons
annually. The utility breaks even on its ash reuse
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Wos/e Reduction Opportunities: Generating Stations
program by working with several contractors to find
external markets for its ash.
• What type of coal is being burned? The more
homogeneous the coal, the higher quality of ash
produced. High-quality ash is often required for
many reuse applications. Ash quality, however, is a
secondary concern when compared to the econom-
ics of purchasing coal and complying with air quali-
ty regulations. The ash reuse market also presents
numerous opportunities for ash created from the
burning of nonhomogeneous coal.

• What marketing resources are available? Significant
effort may be required to determine acceptable uses
for ash and to locate potential users. Marketing
firms can often help utilities market ash and locate
customers. For example, Commonwealth Edison
(ComEd) attributes its ash reuse success to an
arrangement that provides vendors with incentives
to find applications for ComEd's coal ash. These
outside marketers found reuse opportunities for 90
percent of ComEd's coal ash—780,000 tons in
1995 —saving more than $8 million in avoided
landfill disposal costs.
• What state regulatory constraints exist with
respect to ash reuse? Some states have restrictions
on ash reuse. Illinois, for example, required utilities
to obtain a solid waste determination prior to start-
ing an ash reuse project. Given the time required
for the state to make this determination, IP would
often lose opportunities to market its ash. The utili-
ty worked with the state legislature, and in July
1995, Illinois passed a law to enable utilities to
market ash as a revenue-generating commodity.
This law reduced the need for Illinois utilities to
construct new onsite disposal facilities.

The economics of coal ash reuse are largely dependent
on local or regional factors including production rates,
processing and handling costs, availability of markets,
transportation costs, price and availability of competing
materials, and seasonal adjustments.2
•1995 industry average. Source: Public Service Electric & Gas.
'"American Coal Ash Association, "Coal Ash: Local Materials for Local Development.'
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CHAPTER 3
WASTE REDUCTION OPPORTUNITIES:
DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION
> ignificant and varied opportunities
t"% exist for utilities to reduce solid
>i
/ waste in their distribution and

transmission processes, particularly with

respect to utility poles, porcelain brushings

and insulators, street lamp units, transform-

ers, protective equipment, and rags. These

opportunities can increase if a utility devel-

ops an effective materials collection system.
Reusing Utility Poles
The utilities participating in this report indicated that dis-
posing of an increasingly large number of used utility poles
'motivated them to find cost-effective disposal alternatives.
The most common type of utility pole is made of
wood and has an average useful life of between 25 and
30 years. To prevent underground rotting, these poles
are often treated with creosote, pentachlorophenol, or
other wood preservatives. Some states have disposal
restrictions on treated poles, such as prohibiting their
incineration. As .always, companies should always follow
all applicable federal, state, and local regulations for
managing these materials.

"When properly managed, these poles present a variety
of reuse opportunities, such as in landscaping, for con-
structing gates and barriers, as fencing, in the construc-
tion of playground equipment, and for hiking trails.
Some utilities encourage line workers to give away used
utility poles near takedown sites to avoid transportation
and disposal costs. For example, utilities with rural ser-
vice areas often give farmers the poles to use for fencing.
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Wosle Reduction Opportunities: Distribution and Transmission
Mote Marine Laboratory, the Florida Aquarium,
and the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary for use in han-
dling fish and birds. FPC's worn rubber blankets
found a home at the Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation
Center, where they now serve as lounging mats
for Bengal tigers.
Cloth, once thought of as cheap disposable items for
cleaning gas meters, can pile up quickly for large utili-
ties—as can their disposal costs. Several utilities now are
purchasing durable rags that can be laundered and
reused several times prior to disposal. BGE found a local
company to launder its rags. This practice saved one
BGE facility over 50 percent on new rag purchases in
1994. FPC washes and reuses shop rags on site, which
enabled the utility to cut its rag consumption in half
over a period of 3 years.
Some Additional Ideas to Help
Increase Waste Reduction
Opportunities

• Thoroughly explore all potential onsite and offsite
reuse opportunities. All utilities should investigate
nonprofit organizations or local businesses in their
area that may be able to reuse or recycle wood,
porcelain, or other materials. Sometimes simply
publicizing the availability of a material for reuse or
recycling will generate a long list of individuals and
groups who are not only interested in the material
but will come and haul it away.
• Consider partnering with other organizations or
donating materials to nonprofits. For small waste
streams or where preparing material for recycling is
labor intensive, consider partnering with another
organization to reduce costs or donating the
material to a nonprofit organization.
10
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CHAPTER 4
WASTE REDUCTION OPPORTUNITIES:
INVESTMENT RECOVERY AND WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS
j|, t most utilities, several opera-

tional groups often share the
responsibility for waste reduction.

For example, materials collected through an

office recycling program, such as paper, cor-

rugated, and glass bottles, may fall under

the responsibility of an environmental divi-

sion. The environmental division arranges

for the collection of these materials, tracks

the volume of material collected, and calcu-

lates any associated revenue or cost savings

attributable to this recycling. Many utilities

also frequently dedicate staff to "investment

recovery" activities. These individuals identify

revenue-generating options for readily mar-

ketable retired, obsolete, or surplus

equipment and material.
While each utility may choose to concentrate its efforts
in different markets, the most common materials being
marketed by investment recovery groups include scrap
metals, electrical hardware, computers, office furniture,
and fleet vehicles. Utility partners have also identified
innovative opportunities to reduce waste in their ware-
house operations.

Scrap Metal Recycling and Reuse
Scrap metal, particularly used aluminum, copper and
lead cable, ferrous steel, and old appliances, is routinely
collected and recycled by most utilities. Scrap metal
sales can be quite profitable, especially for large utilities
like PG&E, which in 1995 recycled almost 24 million
pounds of scrap metal from electrical conductors, trans-
formers, and other equipment.
FP&L, after analyzing the amount and associated
value of the metal it scrapped, began exploring ways to
increase the value of the utility's metal recovery opera-
tions. FP&L purchased equipment to clean and polish
11
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Wosfe Reduction Opportunities: Investment Recovery and Warehouse Operations
metal and established more efficient metal sorting
processes. A piece of pole hardware that would tradi-
tionally have been scrapped at a value of $7, for exam-
ple, is now being cleaned and put back in service for a
purchase cost savings of $60 per unit.

Options for Reducing Wood Waste
Old or broken wood pallets and reels often represent a
significant part of a utility's solid waste stream. In
an effort to reduce the disposal costs associated with
wood waste, utilities are either trying to find ways to
extend the life of their pallets or looking for new uses
for this wood waste.
Many utilities refurbish their pallets on site or with
the help of an outside vendor. BGE, for example,
currently uses a vendor to recondition its pallets, allow-
ing die utility to cut new pallet purchases by approxi-
mately 50 percent a year.
PP&L also saves money from pallet repair and reuse.
PP&L marks pallets tJiat are not damaged or only
slightly damaged to facilitate their reuse. To encourage
reuse, PP&L also published a list of pallet refurbishers
and mulching facilities and distributed this list to its
service centers. In addition, PP&L has successfully
worked with its vendors to encourage the use of durable
pallets. Employees are encouraged to take excess pallets
home and construct home compost bins. Through these
programs, PP&L reduced wood purchases by 193,000
pounds in 1995 alone.
BGE and Northeast Utilities have additional uses for
pallets that cannot be reconditioned. The wood is
shredded either on site or off site by a vendor and
turned into wood chips. Both companies use these
wood chips for energy recovery and landscaping mulch.
At FPC and PG&E, unusable pallets are picked up by
local furniture makers for conversion into chairs, tables,
and lounges. There is a growing trend among utilities to
standardize pallet size, encouraging greater reuse. In
addition, several utilities are exploring or already pur-
chasing reusable plastic pallets for certain uses.
Refurbishing and rebuilding wood cable reels offer
additional opportunities for reducing wood waste. Some
refurbishing vendors come direcdy to a utility's facility
and disassemble the reels on site. FP&L has refurbished
nearly 4,500 reels using this method. BGE uses a con-
tractor that removes the reels at no charge. This con-
tractor then refurbishes the reels and sells them back to
cable manufacturers. This activity helped BGE divert
750,000 pounds of wood reels from its landfill waste
stream in 1995.
Seeking further solutions to reduce wood waste, PG&E
is investigating the use of plastic reels that are more
durable and longer lasting than their wood counterparts.

"Just in Time7' Inventory Systems
Some utilities are moving to a "just in time" inventory
system in order to control losses. Many utilities store
large equipment, such as generators, transformers,
meters, and piping, in outside supply yards until it is
needed. Often, this equipment rusts, is damaged, or
deteriorates before it can be used. Using "just in time"
inventory, some utilities are storing less equipment on
site and ordering replacements only when current inven-
tory is used. In some cases, items that can be obtained
quickly (within 24 hours) from vendors are not kept in
inventory at all. FP&L has taken "just in time" invento-
ry one step further. The utility has entered into agree-
ments with some of its vendors to allow them to store
equipment in FP&L's supply yards. The vendors are
responsible for the upkeep of the equipment, and FP&L
takes ownership only when the equipment is needed.

Centralized Collection Systems
Improve Efficiency for Some Utilities
Utilities with small service areas can improve the effi-
ciency of their investment recovery operations by devel-
oping centralized collection systems for salvaged materi-
als. FP&L, for example, developed a central reclamation
and salvage program to manage the materials collected
from the utility's service centers. Materials are collected
daily and sent to the centralized recovery facility next to
FP&L's supply warehouse. Materials are then sorted;
those that can be refurbished, such as pole line hard-
ware, are cleaned and redistributed to service centers.
Leftover paint is consolidated and used to paint ware-
houses and storage facilities. Recyclable materials, such
as scrap metal and plastic conduits, are allowed to accu-
mulate at the recovery facility until enough materials
have been collected to sell.
Several factors contribute to the success of FP&L's
centralized investment recovery system:
• Service area size and demography. Utilities like
PG&E, with numerous service centers (1,600) and
12
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Wosfe Reduction Opportunities: Investment Recovery and Warehouse Operations
large service areas (75,000 square miles), may find
that the high transportation costs involved in sup-
porting a centralized collection system make it
unprofitable to consolidate their investment recovery
operations. FP&L's relatively small service area, 65
service centers spanning 27,650 square miles,
enables the utility to keep transportation costs down.
• Property. FP&L has enough property surrounding
its supply warehouse to operate a centralized recov-
ery facility large enough to collect, process, and store
substantial amounts of recovered materials. Having
the recovery facility next to its supply warehouse
allows FP&L to use its service center delivery fleet to
backhaul recyclables to the recovery facility each day
after delivering new supplies. This method saves
FP&L money since the utility incurs no additional
costs to transport materials from the recovery facility
to the supply warehouse for distribution.
One additional factor that can facilitate a successful
centralized collection program is the purchase of recy-
cling equipment such as bailers and grinders. Companies
using a payback period longer than one year to guide
capital purchases often can make such purchases and
reap the benefits over the long term.

Factors That Impact Investment
Recovery and Warehouse Waste
Reduction
Utilities may want to consider the following issues when
considering investment recovery and warehouse waste
reduction programs:
' Will an investment recovery program make the
best use of available staff time and resources? Some
utilities do not invest a great deal of staff time or
capital resources in recovery activities. These utilities
believe their primary focus should be to produce
and distribute electric power, not create inhouse
recycling and refurbishment businesses. On the
other hand, some utilities ask their environmental
departments to develop and maintain ways to sell
utility "waste" materials. Utilities interested in
aggressively pursuing investment recovery activities
should first make sure they have adequate staff and
equipment resources to dedicate to this activity. A
successful investment-recovery program requires
staff to manage investment recovery activities, pre-
pare the materials for reuse and recycling, and trans-
port the materials to facilities for processing and
final distribution. A successful program may also
require purchasing equipment to bale, grind, polish,
shred, or crush recovered material.
Is adequate space available to store and process
recovered materials? Many utilities have limited
warehouse and yard storage space. For these utilities,
even collecting a few pallets for repair can be a prob-
lem. Utilities lacking adequate space to store waste
for reuse or recycling may want to consider partner-
ing with vendors, other businesses in their service ter-
ritory, or even other utilities. These other organiza-
tions may be willing to transport and store materials
for a share of the proceeds. These utilities may also
want to explore other avenues for waste reduction,
such as requesting that vendors use and collect
durable transport packaging, pallets, and reels.
13
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CHAPTER 5
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
WASTE REDUCTION
|J n addition to the waste reduction opportu-
nities associated with power generation,

distribution, transmission, and storage,

many utilities are discovering ways to reduce

waste in their fleet maintenance operations

and administrative offices. Investigating new

computer technologies and innovative prac-

tices highlighted in this chapter can help your

company conserve materials such as

antifreeze, tires, oil, and paper.
FLEET MAINTENANCE
Recycling Fleet Products
A number of utilities achieve significant cost savings by
recycling and reusing various fleet products, such as
antifreeze. IP, for example, reclaimed nearly 30 55-gal-
lon drums of antifreeze used in its maintenance vehicles
in 1995. The reclaimed antifreeze was then reused in
heat exchangers, saving the utility more than $12,000 in
antifreeze disposal and purchasing costs.
Several utilities are also recycling large quantities of
lead-acid batteries. In 1995 alone, FP&L shipped
186,000 pounds of batteries for recycling.
Retreading can extend the usable life of a tire several
times, at a savings of between one-third and one-half
the cost of a new tire. Some utilities are exploring the
use of retread tires for their fleets, and others recycle
their damaged tires. BGE collected more than 85 tons
of tires for retreading in 1995, saving several million
dollars in avoided disposal and purchasing costs.
14
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Additional Opportunities for Waste Reduction
Changing Fleet Maintenance
Practices

Some utilities have found that by simply changing some
of their traditional fleet maintenance practices, they are
able to reduce their waste disposal and purchasing costs
as well. Most utilities, for example, change the oil in
their maintenance and service vehicles at prescribed
vehicle mileage levels. Northeast Utilities followed this
practice but recently began to test the oil quality in its
vehicles prior to changing it. The utility discovered that,
in most vehicles, the oil did not require changing every
3,000 miles but rather somewhere between 5,000 and
6,000 miles. By waiting until this additional mileage has
accrued, Northeast Utilities essentially doubles the
mileage between servicing. In 1995, Northeast Utilities
conserved 1,000 gallons of oil by making this change,
saving $54,000 in purchasing and disposal costs. The
utility also located a vendor that rerefines Northeast
Utilities' used oil and sells it back to the utility for reuse.

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
Eliminating Paper Waste

Many utilities are working diligently to reduce their
office paper use. For example, BGE's use of electronic
mail, double-sided copying, and electronic filing
reduced paper use to approximately 0.5 pounds per
employee per day in 1995, down from 1.5 pounds per
employee per day in 1991. In addition, most utilities
have been very proactive with respect to recycling mixed
paper, corrugated, and aluminum in their administrative
offices. PP&L recycled 1,800,000 pounds of high-grade,
mixed office paper, corrugated, magazines, and newspa-
per in 1995. In 1994, PG&E reduced 60,000 pounds of
corrugated by asking one of its suppliers to reuse corru-
gated boxes up to three times.
Northeast Utilities developed a program to eliminate
unwanted bulk mail, which is a significant component
of the company's office waste. By instituting an employ-
ee education campaign and providing employees with
cards to send to vendors requesting that their names be
removed from mailing lists, Northeast Utilities reduced
third-class (bulk) mail by 39,000 pounds and advertis-
ing by 3,000 pounds in 1994 alone.
Several utilities found an additional way to reduce
paper usage by moving to electronic purchasing and
billing systems. The Southern Company, for example,
electronically obtains price quotes from vendors, saving
the utility $120,000 per year in avoided administrative
costs. This paperless system shortens the purchasing
process and helps The Southern Company conserve over
600 pounds of paper per year. PSE&G reduced paper
consumption by establishing an electronic data inter-
change system to receive supplier invoices electronically.
Other WasteWi$e partners including Illinois Power,
Detroit Edison, and The Southern Company are also
exploring ways to bill their customers electronically.

Vendor Consolidation

In an effort to streamline operations, improve efficiency,
reduce waste, and lower operating costs, several utilities
are consolidating the number of vendors with whom
they work. PSE&G, for example, was accustomed to
using over 85 suppliers. Working with this number of
vendors increased the incidence of waste caused from
expired products, duplicate items, and oversupply. The
utility now uses only six suppliers.

Factors That Impact Waste Reduction
Utilities may want to consider the following issues when
considering fleet maintenance and administrative office
waste reduction programs:
• Have all means of recycling and reuse for fleet
maintenance supplies been explored? Remember, oil
and antifreeze can be recycled, and tires can be
retreaded. Recycled, rather than virgin, fleet materials
can be purchased from vendors and suppliers. Look
for other innovative ways to help extend the life of
fleet materials while not jeopardizing fleet safety.
• Look for ways to reduce or eliminate paper waste
streams, even if they are currently being recycled.
Even if utilities have an active office paper recycling
program, they can still find ways to reduce the
amount of paper that ends up in their recycling bins.
They can promote the use of electronic mail and
electronic data interchange systems within the utility.
They can also institute a double-sided copying policy
and help employees reduce the amount of junk mail
they receive and ultimately throw away.
15
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CONCLUSION
Many factors impact the success of solid waste
reduction campaigns, many of which have little
or nothing to do with a utility's investment in
these programs. Utility solid waste and recycling coordina-
tors often have litde control over factors:

• Size and geographic location of die
utility's service area.
• Existence of local recycling and reuse markets.
• Organizational structure of the utility.
• Amount of staffing support dedicated to
waste reduction efforts.
» Capital investment resources available to
assist with solid waste reduction.
• Warehouse and storage space constraints.
Though all the utilities studied in this report took dif-
ferent approaches to reducing their solid waste, many
faced some of the same constraints listed above. In spite
of the constraints, all had at least one success story to
tell. The most successful solid waste programs shared
several components. They:
• Used a comprehensive approach to solid waste
reduction. While beginning with, and expending
the most resources on, managing their largest or
most profitable waste streams, successful utilities
looked for ways to reduce waste in all of their func-
tion areas: production, distribution, transmission,
warehouse, and administrative offices.
• Included both large and small waste streams. No
waste stream is too small. Waste reduction oppor-
tunities exist for transformers, as well as gloves,
spray cans, or junk mail.
• Made waste reduction profitable. Sometimes this
means donating materials and/or finding outside
groups to partner with to reduce costs.
* Included employees in waste reduction cam-
paigns. Many of the utilities developed "green
teams" comprised of employees from different
function areas. These employees not only help
identify areas where waste reduction is needed, but
they also help implement the programs. Utilities
engaged employees through signage, contests, spe-
cial events, newsletters, personalized recycling
boxes, or promotional items like reusable coffee
mugs. They also provided training and/or tools to
assist employees with their waste reduction efforts.
Recognizing employees for their waste reduction
achievements and notifying them of campaign suc-
cesses can help ensure that employees stay involved.
Tracked and measured results. Not all of the utili-
ties established sophisticated data collection systems
to track waste reduction efforts, but all of them
made a conscious effort to record reductions and to
equate these reductions to either landfill cost sav-
ings or recycling and reuse income.
Shared solid waste reduction success with manage-
ment and shareholders. Solid waste and recycling
achievements should always be a component of
utility shareholder reports.
Engaged top management support. Sometimes this
support comes in the form of additional dollars to
invest in staff or equipment to facilitate waste
reduction. Most of the time, however, management
support is expressed in the authorization to aggres-
sively pursue ways to reduce utility solid waste and
its associated disposal and purchasing costs.
Consolidated or centralized supplies and
recyclables where possible. The greatest efficiencies
and reductions are achieved in those utilities where
it is cost effective to centralize storage and collec-
tion activities.
Looked first for in-house reuse opportunities
before selling, donating, or landfilling material.
Employees appreciate the offer of valuable materials
that would otherwise be thrown away. Such give-
away programs have the dual benefit of boosting
employee morale in addition to waste reduction.
Tried various approaches to make waste
reduction profitable. Persistence helps make
waste reduction successful even if initial efforts
achieved limited success.
16
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APPENDIX
WASTEWIISE UTILITY PARTNER PROFILES
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WbsteW/Se Utility Partner Profile
Baltimore Gas & Electric Company (BGE)
Fuel source: BGE's fuel mix is 39 percent
nuclear, 58 percent fossil, and 3 percent
hydro.

Facilities: BGE operates 10 electric power
plants.

Generating capacity: 5,938 megawatts
installed.

Service area: BGE's electrical service area
covers 2,300 square miles. Its natural gas
lines cover 61 7 square miles.

Customers: BGE serves approximately one
million residential, commercial, and industrial
customers. It provides natural gas service to
more than 500,000 customers.

Employees: Approximately 7,000.

Environmental policy: To have a business
environment where environmental issues are
routinely considered in the strategic decision-
making, business planning, and day-to-day
operations of the company.

To prevent pollution and reduce waste
through integration of cost-effective programs
into planning and daily operations.

To have effective environmental performance
measurement and feedback directed toward
continuous improvement of environmental
management systems and results.

To have more effective two-way communica-
tions with BGE stakeholders regarding
environmental management and performance.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Employee recognition. BGE has a corporate commit-
ment to pollution prevention and waste reduction
efforts. One of the company's environmental pledges
is to encourage employee awareness. To support this
pledge and recognize employees' contributions to
environmental efforts, BGE established two award
programs: an Employee Recognition Award Program
(ERAP) to reward employees for identifying cost saving
efforts, and a Results Incentive Awards (RIA) program.
Both programs incorporate environmental efforts into
their screening criteria. BGE also implemented a cor-
porate pollution prevention plan to increase
employee awareness.

In 1995, for example, at the C.R Crane power
plant, the Plant Labor Group received an RIA pro-
gram goal to reduce solid waste disposal costs from
1 994 levels. By reducing costs by 71/2 percent, or
about $3,000, the Plant Labor Group would earn an
award equal to ]/2 percent of their salary. The payout
would double if the group reduced waste disposal
costs by 15 percent, or about $6,000. The facility
general supervisor created a spreadsheet to track the
goal and reported progress to the group monthly.
The station labor group reduced solid waste by 36
percent and saved the station nearly $13,000 in dis-
posal costs. The group achieved this goal by waste
reduction and recycling activities. The incentive pro-
gram brought results, since certain individuals had
responsibility and ownership of the goal.

Measurement. In an effort to better manage its
environmental programs, BGE began to measure its
solid waste reduction progress in 1994. Toward this
end, BGE decided to use the Electric Power
Research Institute's Accounting Software Application
for Pollution Prevention (ASAPP) to better track waste
generation and management. BGE began using
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Baltimore Gas & Electric Company (continued)
ASAPP as a tool to help establish a centralized,
systematic way to collect and maintain waste reduc-
tion data. The waste accounting software integrates
waste management information from plant and sup-
port personnel, manifests, shipping papers, and
invoices. As a result, BGE is able to identify waste
streams and management costs with the most room
for improvement.

Generating Stations and Distribution
Coal ash recycling. BGE does not landfill any ash
because they are able to find reuse alternatives,
such as using ash as a replacement for ready-mix
cement. BGE has used ash for structural fill in high-
way projects and for the construction of a light
industrial park. BGE uses ash for flowable fill, such
as backfill around gas lines. BGE also sells slag for
sand blasting material.

Porcelain. BGE strips the metals from porcelain
insulators, reuses a portion of the metals in their
operations, and uses the porcelain for aggregate.
By reusing metal in their operations, BGE saves $2
million per year.
For More Information, Contact:
Greg Gunzelman, Environmental Scientist
Air & Waste Management Unit
Environmental Section
Baltimore Gas & Electric Company
7609 Energy Parkway, Suite 101
Baltimore, MD 21226
410 787-5195 (Phone)
410787-5199 (Fax)
Concrete and soils. BGE recycles concrete from con-
struction and demolition operations, and concrete
curbs from gas pipe installations. A contractor turns
the concrete into aggregate for road bed construc-
tion purposes. Soils excavated from gas pipeline
expansion and repair projects are screened and
reused for backfill. BGE's Gas Engineering saves
approximately $400,000 annually from soil reuse.
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WasteWi$e Utility Partner Profile
Florida Power Corporation (FPC)
Fuel source: Coal, oil, nuclear, and natural gas.

Facilities: FPC operates more than 50 facilities,
business offices, and plants.

Generating capacity: 7.3 million kilowatts.

Service area: FPC's electrical service area cov-
ers more than 20,000 square miles.

Customers: FPC serves more than 4 million cus-
tomers in 32 counties.

Employees: Approximately 4,600.

Environmental policy: Florida Power believes
that environmental responsibility goes beyond
compliance with laws and regulations. The utility
is committed to providing energy as efficiently
as possible, while reducing waste and conserv-
ing resources.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Community education efforts. FPC participates in a
variety of county and city-sponsored functions that
feature environmental education. On Earth Day,
employee volunteers educated school children and
their families on the company's environmental phi-
losophy and best management practices.

Solid waste consulting. FPC has performed waste
audits and trained more than 50 retail customers
and schools on the company's paper recycling pro-
gram. FPC also provides waste disposal services for
local governments and stresses the importance of
recycling to its vendors and contractors.
Generating Stations and Distribution
Coal ash recycling. FPC facilitiates the reuse of
nearly all of its fly ash into various concrete prod-
ucts. More than 400,000 tons of fly ash were
reused in 1996.

Poles. FPC donates concrete poles to the Pineilas
County artificial reef program. Since the program
began, more than 500 tons of concrete have
found new life in the Gulf of Mexico. The artificial
reef program provides habitat for many species
of fish and vegetation.

Streetlight refurbishment. FPC began remanufactur-
ing luminaries in January 1 996. The company
contracted with a local nonprofit organization to
clean, test, and replace bulbs, photo cells, globes,
and light starters where feasible. Approximately
5,000 luminaries were remanufactured in 1996.
With each remanufactured luminary used, the com-
pany saves between $40 and $100 depending on
the type replaced.

Donation of materials. FPC donates used rubber
lineman gloves to the Mote Marine Lab, the Florida
Aquarium, and the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. The
company also donates used rubber blankets to the
Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation Center and used
three-ring binders to underprivileged kids and their
teachers at Project Headstart.

Reuse of shop rags. FPC washes and reuses shop
rags on site, which cuts rag consumption in half
over a 3-year period.

Investment Recovery and Recycling
Wood Reuse Program. At FPC, broken pallets that
are no longer usable are picked up by local wood
recyclers and converted into new, reusable pallets.
In addition, wood reels are stripped of wire,
dismantled, and reassembled for sale as new reels.
-------
Florida Power Corporation (continued)
As a result, the company conserved approximately
197,000 pounds in one year.

Steel recycling. FPC recycles over 2 million pounds
of steel annually.

Recycling used wire. FPC sends all of its used wire
and nonperforming transformers to a metal recovery
facility where a cable chopper and burner processes
materials into high grade marketable metals.

Fleet Maintenance
Antifreeze reuse. Purchase of antifreeze has been
reduced by filtering contaminants from used
antifreeze and returning it back to service.

General Office
Buying recycled products. FPC has implemented a
closed-loop buy-recycled policy. Office paper col-
lected is recycled into janitorial products-and office
paper purchased by the company. Whenever possi-
ble, FPC purchases items made from recycled
For More Information, Contact:
Jennifer Waggoner
Florida Power Corporation
3201 34th Street
P.O. Box 14042-H2G
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
813 866-5395 (Phone)
813 866-4926 (Fax)
materials and stresses the importance of take-back
programs with vendors.

Buying remanufactured products. FPC purchases
toner cartridges remanufactured from its used car-
tridges.

Paper recycling. FPC recycles nearly 1 million
pounds of paper annually. This saves the utility
approximately $60,000 in avoided disposal costs
each year and generates revenue from the sale of
paper and cardboard.
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WasteWi$e Utility Partner Profile
Florida Power & Light (FP&L)
Fuel source: FP&L's energy mix is 31 percent
gas, 25 percent nuclear, 19 percent oil, 18
percent purchased power, and 7 percent
coal.

Facilities: FP&L generates power at 34 major
generating units and non-utility sources.

Generating capacity: 18,608 megawatts.

Service area: FP&L's service area covers
27,650 square miles.

Customers: FP&L provides service to more
than 3.5 million customers.

Employees: Approximately 1 1,000.

Environmental policy: FP&L pledges to com-
ply with the spirit and intent as well as the
letter of environmental laws, regulations, and
standards; incorporate environmental protec-
tion and stewardship as an integral part of
the design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of their facilities; encourage the
wise use of energy to minimize the impact on
the environment; communicate effectively on
environmental issues; conduct periodic self-
evaluations, report performance, and take
appropriate actions.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Incentive programs. FP&L builds environmental
goals and incentives into employee performance
evaluations.
Employee education. FP&L communicates recycling
statistics to employees via e-mail and other internal
communication media. The utility also posts recy-
cling awareness signs in its service centers.

Generating Stations and Distribution
Remanufacture of luminaries. FP&L examines lumi-
naries for defective bulbs, photo cells, and loose
wiring. If the bulbs and photo cells are still under
warranty, then the manufacturer credits FP&L for the
defective parts. If bulbs still have some useful life,
the company sells them through an investment
recovery program to developing countries at a
reduced price. Refurbished luminaries are put back
into the inventory system for reuse. With the lumi-
nary recovery program, FP&L has generated
$145,000 in revenues from fixtures which failed
under warranty and $26,000 through items sold in
the investment recovery program.

Transformers. FP&L evaluates and refurbishes trans-
formers. For those not salvageable, FP&L dismantles
them and sells the scrap metal. FP&L refurbishes
more than 4,000 transformers annually.

Investment Recovery & Recycling
Centralized collection for recyclables. FP&L devel-
oped a centralized collection system for recyclables,
netting more than $7 million in revenues in 1 995.
Materials are collected daily from FP&L's service
centers and sent to a centralized recovery facility
for separation and storage. Materials that can be
refurbished, such as pole line hardware, fuses,
and porcelain insulators, are cleaned and redistrib-
uted to service centers. Recyclables, such as scrap
metals and plastic conduits, are allowed to accumu-
late in the recovery facility until there is enough of
a product to sell.
-------
Florida Power & Light (continued)
Metal recycling. In 1995, FP&L collected over 10.5
million pounds of reclaimed metals.

Refurbishing. FP&L refurbishes materials, such as
pole line hardware, fuses, and porcelain insulators.
By refurbishing pole line hardware, FP&L saved
$218,492.

Wood reuse and recycling. FP&L returned nearly
4,500 reels for refurbishment. In addition, FP&L col-
lected over 5 million pounds of scrap wood in
1995. The company has a chipper on site to turn
the scrap wood into mulch.

Shrink wrap recycling. FP&L recycled 21,500
pounds of shrink wrap in 1995. It collects and bales
the shrink wrap.

Scrap Wire processing. FP&L processed over 3.7
million pounds of wire and cable in 1995.
Aluminum and copper are separated from the wire
insulation and ferrous metals.

Aerosol cans. FP&L processed over 18,000 aerosol
cans in 1995. It purchased a can crusher, and with-
in 2 months the avoided disposal costs paid off the
investment.
For More Information, Contact:
Scott Freeburn, Recycling Coordinator
Florida Power & Light
2455 Port West Boulevard
Riviera Beach, FL 33407
561 845-4924 (Phone)
561 845-3308 (Fax)
Fleet Maintenance
Lead acid battery recycling. In 1995, FP&L shipped
186,000 pounds of lead acid batteries for recycling.
General Office
Working with suppliers. FP&L is piloting "take-back"
and "just-in-time" inventory programs with its suppli-
ers. FP&L also received a National Leadership
award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors for col-
lecting and recycling 982 tons of office waste
material.
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WasteWi$e Utility Partner Profile
Illinois Power Company (IP)
Fuel source: Coal generates 81 percent of
the electricity supplied by IR Nuclear energy
accounts for an additional 18 percent. The
remaining fuel sources include natural gas
and oil.

Facilities: Illinois Power operates six generat-
ing facilities.

Net Generating capacity: 4,146 megawatts.

Service area: IP supplies 16 separate service
areas.

Customers: IP supplies electricity to 550,000
customers and natural gas to 390,000 cus-
tomers.

Employees: Approximately 3,635.

Environmental policy: IP's environmental poli-
cy states that all operations are to be in
compliance with environmental regulations
and laws. Operating within compliance is the
responsibility of all employees.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Employee education and recognition. IP developed
an environmental awards program to both increase
corporate environmental awareness and recognize
individuals or teams that contributed to the fulfill-
ment of the company's environmental goals. The
company determines awards based on the merit of
the activities presented and does not limit the num-
ber of awards given in any one year.
Generating Stations and Distribution
Coal ash recycling. IP recycles ash at the Baldwin
power plant, its largest facility. A recycling company
(Gran-Grit, Inc.) processes the bottom ash on site.
The company uses the ash as filler in cement, roof-
ing shingles, blasting grit, and ice control on road
surfaces. The company recycles 500,000 tons of
coal ash annually. IP has not found a market for ash
generated at other sites. A key issue for the compa-
ny is avoiding the cost of building a new ash
storage pond.

Remanufacture of transformers, meters, and lumi-
naries. IP rebuilds transformers, meters, and
luminaries to extend their useful life. A contractor
routinely visits all 1 6 service areas to rebuild trans-
formers until they are no longer usable. When it is
no longer cost-effective to rebuild the transformers,
the contractor sells the metal for scrap. This process
saves money, since IP does not have to purchase all
new equipment. In addition, the company rebuilds
all meters on site. The company sends out luminar-
ies to be rebuilt and buys back "new" luminaries
from the same company. In 1995, IP shipped 258
containers of street lamps for remanufacture.

Require suppliers to use reusable transport packaging.
In suppliers' contracts, the company requires that
materials be delivered in recyclable or returnable
containers. For example, boiler treatment chemicals
are now delivered in reusable aluminum tote bins
instead of 55-gallon plastic drums. The practice
eliminated the use of 30 plastic drums per year.

Composting organics caught in intake valves.
Each winter, small fish dieoff as a result of cold
stress and flow into the Clinton Power Station's
intake screens. Rather than discard the fish in a
landfill, IP began composting trapped organics with
wood chips. The company composted 450,000
pounds of organic material in 1 994.
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Illinois Power Company (continued)
Concrete and asphalt recycling. IP reuses or recy-
cles concrete and asphalt resulting from the
installation and replacement of new electric and gas
lines. The company used the recycled concrete to
build a driveway at one station. Whenever the com-
pany cannot use the materials internally, it gives the
material to other recyclers.

Investment Recovery and Recycling
Centralized collection for recyclables. IP recently
moved to a centralized collection system for many
recyclables. After delivering supplies to service cen-
ters, the company's fleet backhauls certain
recyclables (such as aluminum, copper, iron, and
steel) to a centralized facility-for separation and
storage. IP recycled a total of 1.23 million pounds
of nonferrous metals, generating $350,000 in
1995. Paper, wood, and other materials are usually
recycled on a local basis.
For More Information, Contact:
Roger Cruse,
Environmental Professional Illinois Power
500 South 27th Street
Decatur, IL 62525-1805
217 424-7376 (Phone)
217362-7649 (Fax)
Fleet Maintenance
Antifreeze reuse. The Wood River Power Plant recy-
cled and reused nearly 30 55-gallon drums of
antifreeze from maintenance vehicles for use in heat
exchangers, saving more than $12,000 in disposal
and drum purchasing costs.
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WtrsteW;$e Utility Partner Profile
Northeast Utilities Service Company (NU)
Fuel source: Nuclear, hydropower, natural
gas, and coal.

Generating capacity: 7,800 megawatts.

Service area: NU, serves three states, cover-
ing 11,000 square miles stretching from the
Long Island Sound to the Canadian border.

Customers: NU companies serve more than
1.6 million customers.

Employees: Approximately 10,000.

Environmental policy: In conducting its busi-
ness and operating its facilities, NU is
committed to protecting the environment.
Achievement of this objective requires that
employees at all levels in the organization
understand and comply with environmental
regulations related to their areas of responsi-
bility. This means strict adherence to both the
letter and spirit of state and federal laws for
the protection of the environment.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Generating Stations and Distribution
Fly ash and bottom ash recycling. NU sold 93 per-
cent (27,500 tons) of its fly ash for reuse as
concrete filler, saving $579,000 in 1995. The bot-
tom ash (sand blasting grit) is bagged on site; then
it is sold and used to clean paint and rust off of
antique furniture. In 1995, NU reused more than
58,000 tons of this material, saving $2.6 million in
avoided disposal costs.
Transformers. NU works with a company that takes
apart the transformers, cleans the parts, and remanu-
factures the product. When the transformers reach the
end of their useful life, the scrap materials are recycled.

Poles. NU sold more than 6,000 feet of wood poles
for lumber. The buyer uses the poles to create
beams and posts. This action saved NU $5,000 in
avoided disposal costs. NU is exploring a joint effort
with Southern New England Telephone to increase
reuse of wood poles.

Organics. NU is researching the use offish weirs to
help fish safely bypass hydroelectric dams. The com-
pany hopes that the project will dramatically
increase the safe passage of shad and salmon
downstream around NU dams. If successful, the
project could be replicated at other utilities.

Investment Recovery and Warehouse
Metal recycling. NU generated $500,000 by recy-
cling 4 million pounds of metals in 1995.

Wood pallets. While some pallets are refurbished
on a local basis, many pallets are chipped for recy-
cling. In 1995, NU recycled 120,000 pounds of
wood pallets saving more than $2,000.

Cable reels. NU refurbished 240,000 pounds of
cable reels in 1995, saving $12,000 in avoided
disposal costs.
Fleet Maintenance
Conditional maintenance program. NU routinely
tests oil from maintenance and service vehicles prior
to changing it. The company has found that, for
most vehicles, the oil does not require changing
until 5,000 or 6,000 miles. This activity has enabled
the company to essentially double the mileage
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Northeast Utilities Service Company (continued)
between servicing. In 1995, the company conserved
1,000 gallons of oil through this practice and saved
$54,000 in purchasing and disposal costs. A single
vendor recycles the oil, and NU purchases back the
oil from the same vendor.
General Office
Unwanted mail reduction. NU developed an
aggressive program to combat unwanted bulk mail,
estimated at 35 to 50 percent of all mail received.
The company supplies employees with kits to
remove their names from mailing lists and returns
bulk shipments if they are not wanted. In 1995,
these actions resulted in reductions of 42,000
pounds (a 50 percent reduction) and saved $2,000
in avoided disposal costs.

Working with suppliers to reduce waste. NU is con-
solidating the number of vendors they work with,
thereby streamlining operations and reducing waste.

Buy-recycled measurement. NU, in conjunction with
its supplier, developed a system to track recycled-
For More Information, Contact:
Rick Larsen
Senior Scientist, Environmental Programs
P.O. Box 270
Hartford, CT 06141-0270
860 665-5326 (Phone)
860 665-3777 (Fax)
larsera@nu.com (Email)
content purchases. This system is available to all the
suppliers' customers.

Donation programs. NU donates office furniture
and equipment (such as computers), that are no
longer needed, to nonprofit groups or schools. In
addition, participants indicated that old furniture or
equipment might be sold to employees and/or the
public. Unusable computers are sold to a scrap
vendor, who is able to resell some circuit boards.
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WasteWi$e Utility Partner Profile
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)
Fuel source: Natural gas, hydro power, nuclear,
and geothermal.

Facilities: PG&E operates 1,500 facilities.

Generating capacity: 102 billion kilowatt hours.

Service area: PG&E's service area covers
75,000 square miles.

Customers: Approximately 4,463,000.

Employees: Approximately 22,000.

Environmental policy: PG&E's environmental
policy states that "PG&E is committed to a
clean, healthy environment. We will provide our
customers with safe, reliable, and responsive
utility service in an environmentally sensitive and
responsible manner. We believe that sound envi-
ronmental policy contributes to our competitive
strength and benefits our customers, sharehold-
ers, and employees by contributing to the
overall well-being and economic health of the
communities we serve."
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Life cycle cost-analysis. For 1997, PG&E is conducting
a facility-scale life cycle cost-analysis (LCCA) at a medi-
um-sized customer service center in Contra Costa
County. The assessment is examining all material inputs
and solid waste stream outputs with the goal of using
LCCA techniques to reduce waste disposal costs.
Solid waste consulting. PG&E works with some of its
customers on paper recycling and was also one of
seven founding members of the Recycled Paper
Coalition, a voluntary effort to reduce waste by pur-
chasing recycled content paper and encouraging
corporate paper recycling.
Employee education. PG&E's Environmental Quality
Statement and other environmental materials are
now included throughout the company's core cur-
riculum training. In 1 995, more than 3,500
employees attended these courses.

Environmental report. PG&E produced its 7th corpo-
rate environmental report in 1996, which was
distributed to the Board of Directors, managers,
employees, and external groups.

Measurement. PG&E is working with its haulers to
collect baseline data on its solid waste streafnsr-The
company plans to reduce solid waste generation by
10 percent in 1997 at 10 pilot facilities. PG&E is
developing management systems to track progress.

Generating Stations and Distribution
Transformer remanufacture and recycling. PG&E built
a dedicated facility for its transformer remanufacture
and recycling program. In 1996, PG&E processed
nearly 30,000 transformers. Of these, more than
8,000 were remanufactured and placed back in ser-
vice. Nearly 20,000 were recycled, yielding 4,400
tons of metals worth nearly $500,000. The avoided
disposal costs were approximately $4.4 million.

Poles. PG&E experimented with fiberglass poles due
to damage caused by woodpeckers. While wood
poles last only 6 months due to woodpecker dam-
age, fiberglass poles are guaranteed to last for 80
years. PG&E expects that each fiberglass pole used
will replace 160 wood poles (2 poles per year over
80 years). To date, PG&E has installed approximately
100 fiberglass poles, potentially conserving 16,000
wood poles. Given that wood poles cost $400 each
and fiberglass poles cost $900 each, PG&E could
potentially save more than $6,000,000 in avoided
purchasing costs over 80 years. When fiberglass
poles meet the company's performance requirements,
PG&E will regularly use them wherever woodpecker
problems exist. Fiberglass poles are also two-thirds
lighter than wood poles, making them particularly
valuable for manual installation in remote areas.
-------
Pacific Gas and Electric (continued)
Reuse of insulators. PG&E attempts first to reuse
insulators in-house. Unusable insulators are then
listed with CALMAX, an area materials exchange.

Soils. PG&E processes and reuses 65 to 75 percent
of its trenching soil in a backfill recycling plant.

Investment Recovery and Warehouse
Wood reuse and reduction. At PG&E, pallets that are
no longer usable are picked up by local furniture
makers. In addition, PG&E is investigating the use of
piastre reels. The plastic reels would be more
durable and would last longer than their wood coun-
terparts, allowing them to be reused more often.

Miscellaneous. PG&E's Investment Recovery Team
salvaged and recycled $4.1 million in materials in
1996. The volume recycled increased 22 percent
from 1995 for a total of 15,500 tons, while the dol-
lar value increased 7.6 percent. PG&E replaced
1,300 miles of power line, 18,000 electrical trans-
formers, 46,000 gas meters, 37,000 electric
meters, hundreds of miles of plastic natural gas dis-
tribution piping, and thousands of computers.

Aerosol containers. A new handling process,
emphasizing sorting and returning usable materials
and investigating alternative point delivery systems,
should reduce disposal costs of the 40-ton waste
stream by 25 percent, or $35,000 annually.

Dry-cell batteries. Increased use of rechargeable alka-
line batteries will reduce disposal costs for the
halknillion battery waste stream by $40,000 annually.

Fleet Maintenance
Recycling used motor oil. PG&E recycles its used
motor oil, rerefines it, and uses it in its fleet. This
activity saves the utility $20,000 and conserves
800,000 pounds of waste annually. More than 4,700
barrels were reprocessed in 1996, a 6 percent
increase over 1995.
For More Information, Contact:
Peter Melhus, Director
Corporate Environmental Quality
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
123 Mission Street, H21A
RO. Box 770000
San Francisco, CA 94177
415 973-5782 (Phone)
Antifreeze reuse. The 80 tons generated annually in
the 80 maintenance garages will be recycled onsite
and will reduce the waste stream by 90 percent (72-
ton reduction), resulting in an annual savings of
$30,000 to $40,000.

General Office
Working with suppliers. PG&E has formulated supplier
evaluation criteria that include environmental factors
among those considered when selecting suppliers of
products and services. In addition, in 1994 the utility
requested that its largest supplier of envelopes begin
reusing the shipping cartons for billing envelopes an
average of three times before they are too worn for
use. This action reduced the amount of packaging
each year by two-thirds, or 60,000 pounds.

Buying recycled products. PG&E uses recycled con-
tent paper for bill inserts, employee newsletters,
environmental reports, billing envelopes, annual
reports, proxy statements, monthly bills, stationery,
and business cards. In 1995, the company purchased
over 140,000 tons of recycled content paper. More
than 86 percent of all paper products purchased by
the utility contain at least 10 percent postconsumer
recycled fibers. In 1996, the company increased dol-
lars spent on the purchase of recycled office products
by 5 percent.
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WcrsteWi$e Utility Partner Profile
Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PP&L)
Fuel source: Nearly two-thirds of electrical
energy comes from burning coal.

Facilities: PP&L operates five coal-fired plants
with 14 units, one nuclear plant with two
units, two hydroelectric units, and one unit
that has the capacity to burn either oil or nat-
ural gas.

Generating capacity: 6,600 megawatts.

Service area: PP&L provides electrical service
throughout a 10,000 square mile area.

Customers: PP&L supplies electricity to
1,200,000 customers.

Employees: Approximately 6,500.

Environmental policy: One of PP&L's corpo-
rate objectives for 1996 is to achieve at least
$1 million in savings through waste preven-
tion activities. To help achieve this goal, PP&L
launched a "Taking Care of the Future
Today" campaign with the message that
good corporate environmental performance
comes from the actions and decisions made
each day by employees.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Obtaining management support. Obtaining top
management support is a key to a successful waste
reduction program. PP&L's Corporate Environmental
Policy Committee consists of management represen-
tatives that review their company's environmental
direction and set policy. The goal is to develop a
cultural attitude for environmental responsibility
equivalent to that of safety, quality, and productivity.

Employee Incentive Award Program. PP&L's employ-
ee incentive award program pays cash bonuses to
all employees for achievement of annual corporate
goals, including an environmental goal from 1 993-
1995. The Environmental Goal, established by the
Solid Waste Team, consisted of a number of waste
prevention, reuse, and recycling targets. The overall
goal was to achieve a combined average of 100
percent or higher on each of the individual targets
by year end. The environmental goals for 1995
included reduce paper use by 15 percent, reduce
trash disposal by 1 0 percent, recycle 1,000 tons of
paper and cardboard, and recycle 2,500 tons of
wood. Performance on the corporate environmental
goal was measured and reported to employees
monthly. To promote competition between facilities,
waste generation and recycling totals were reported.
PP&L replaced these individual targets with a 1996
goal of at least $1 million in savings through waste
prevention activities.
Generating Stations and Distribution
Coal ash recycling. PP&L mixes hydrated lime with
its fly ash to create Stabil-Fill. PP&L uses Stabil-Fill to
backfill former coal mines, as ready-mix concrete,
and as fill for construction projects. At one PP&L
facility, the use of Stabil-Fill saved an estimated
$700,000 in avoided costs for purchasing fill mate-
rial and reduced the need to build new ash disposal
units, which would have cost over $50 million. For
offsite construction projects, Stabil-Fill has been
used for the expansion of an airport runway and
backfill at industrial sites. In the near future, it will
be used for local road construction.

Wood Reuse Program. In 1995, PP&L reused or
donated 1,852,000 pounds of poles. PP&L encour-
ages the reuse and recycling of poles by the
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Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (continued)
company, employees, and customers. A company
incentive program encouraged employees to find
ways to reuse, donate, and recycle poles, and track
giveaways. Wooden poles may be used for gates,
barriers, fencing, and landscape purposes. Used
poles that cannot be reused or recycled are chipped
and burned for energy purposes.

In 1995, PP&L reduced pallet purchases by
193,300 pounds and sold almost 300,000 pounds
of cable reels for refurbishing. The company works
with vendors on the quality^of their pallets to
improve the potential for reuse (e.g., requesting
standard sizes and hardwood materials). It discour-
ages the use of "junk" or "one-time use" pallets.
PP&L attempts to reuse pallets wherever feasible and
allows employees to take home excess pallets to
create compost bins. It publishes a listing of pallet
and reel refurbishers and mulching facilities.
For More Information, Contact:
Larry LaBuz, Project Engineer
Environmental Management
Pennsylvania Power & Light Company
2 North Ninth Street
Allentown, PA 18101
610498-6238 (Phone)
610498-6204 (Fax)
Fleet Maintenance
Antifreeze reuse. Employees developed a filter to
purify antifreeze. They collect antifreeze in drums, fil-
ter off oil and contaminants, and reuse it. Any
unusable antifreeze is recycled by a vendor.
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WasteWi$e Utility Partner Profile
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G)
Fuel source: Coal and natural gas.

Facilities: 16 fossil (PJM facilities).

Generating capacity: 8,015 megawatts.

Customers: Approximately 1,900,000.

Employees: Approximately 11,000.

Environmental policy: PSE&G is committed to
12 environmental principles to foster a clean-
er, healthier environment. These principles
include conducting all operations to: meet
and/or exceed all applicable environmental
laws and regulations; promote environmental
awareness; prevent pollution at the source,
minimize waste generation, and recycle
materials; and commit resources to support
these principles.
Innovative Waste Reduction Activities

Education and Measurement
Incentives in performance evaluations. PSE&G
encourages managers and staff to achieve environ-
mental goals by including such provisions in
employee performance evaluations. Company offi-
cers must achieve environmental goals in their
divisions to receive base raises. They receive incre-
mental raises for exceeding the goals.

Waste accounting. PSE&G uses a database pro-
gram to track waste management costs. The system
enables PSE&G to track labor, transportation, rental,
taxes, and disposal costs for all waste generated by
the company. The system helps the company track
waste reduction benefits and identify high-cost activ-
ities and cost savings.

Generating Stations and Distribution
Coal ash reuse. PSE&G established a goal of
reusing 100 percent of its coal ash. The company
contracts with firms who find markets for both low-
and high-quality ash. Some uses for the ash include
anti-skid material, landfill cover, backfill material,
buffering agents, and concrete construction material.

Investment Recovery and Warehouse
New technology for wood pole reuse. PSE&G initiat-
ed a pilot program with a Louisiana firm to convert
utility poles into useful building materials using a
combination of chemical and biological processes.
If successful, the process will enable PSE&G to reuse
between 6,000 and 8,000 tons of wood poles
annually (approximately 10,000 poles).

Commingled recycling. To achieve its ambitious
recycling goal, PSE&G uses a materials recovery
facility that processes recyclable materials, such as
paper, wood, glass, and construction debris. The
company finds that commingled recycling collection
saves time devoted to separating materials. Not only
does this process help PSE&G exceed state recycling
targets (PSE&G recycled 94.5 percent of its nonhaz-
ardous waste); it also helps save money in avoided
disposal costs. In 1995, PSE&G saved $500,000 in
avoided disposal costs through the commingled
recycling program.
General Office
Streamline suppliers. PSE&G consolidated the num-
ber of suppliers it uses from 85 companies to only
six. Doing so enabled the company to eliminate sev-
eral problems, such as oversupply, duplication, and
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Public Service Electric and Gas Company (continued)
wasfe stemming from expired product. PSE&G
requires remaining suppliers to meet a 10 percent
waste reduction target. The utility-is also piloting
"take-back" and "just-in-time" inventory programs
with these suppliers.

Solid waste consulting. PSE&G has offered its waste
management expertise to one of its customers,
Liberty State Park (a waste-to-energy facility), in New
York. PSE&G helped the company to develop pur-
chasing specifications for waste management
services, PSE&G is also establishing a computer
demanufacturing program at the PSE&G resource
recovery facility.

Electronic purchasing and billing. PSE&G is pilot-
testing an electronic data interchange system to
electronically bill both its commercial and residential
For More Information, Contact:
Donald McCloskey, Manager
Coal Ash and Solid Waste Business
80 Park Plaza, MC 23C
Newark, NJ 07102-4194
609599-7018 (Phone)
609 394-5980 (Fax)
customers. This action would eliminate return
envelopes and checks. PSE&G has implemented an
electronic purchasing program with its suppliers.
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SECTION A
Company Name:
Company SIC Code:
Check if a

Principal Contact:
Address:
City:
Phone Number:
REGISTRATION FORM
D My company is ready to become a WasteWi$e Member.
(Please complete section A and B)
D I would like more information about the program.
(Please complete section A.)
1ZI subsidiary or
D division. Name of parent company (if applicable):
Title:
State:
Fax:
.Zip:
SECTION B
Signature of
Senior Official:
Print Name:
Date:
My company is ready to become a Waste Wise member!
Please send a membership packet.

Facilities to be included in initial waste reduction efforts:
(e.g., corporate headquarters only, regional facilities, all plants)

Approximate total number of employees in these facilities:
How did you hear about the WasteWi$e program?
D Periodical/Publication (Name)
[H Workshop (Sponsor)
D Trade Association (Name)
D Other EPA Program (Name)
D PSA/Advertisement
D Another Company (Name)
D Other (Specify)
Title:
Email address: ww@cais.net
Or, fax to WasteWi$e at 703-308-8686
For more information call the WasteWi$e helpline at 1 -800-EPA-WISE
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WASTE
WasteWi$e (5306W)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20460
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