&EPA
United States
EPA/903-K-92-002
Environmental Protection August 1992
Agency
Region m
Office of External Affairs
EPA Report Collection
Regional Center for Environmental Information
U.S. EPA Region HI
Philadelphia, PA 19103
POLLUTION PREVENTION
RECYCLING IDEAS
AT WORK
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(
nv^— I—ion
US EPA Region HI
1650 Arch St.
Philadelphia, PA 19W3
DISCLAIMER:
This publication offers many examples of pollution prevention programs
in effect thrtiughout Region III. Company and product names appear only
to provide a reference point; their use in no way suggests EPA approval or
endorsement. Similarly, non-appearance is not a negative statement.
It is also possible, within the confines of this publication, that a company
appearing as an example of a practicable pollution prevention effort could
be out of compliance with certain EPA regulations or requirements not
related to that effort. That situation neither reduces the viability of the P2
project nor removes the company's responsibility to comply in the other
areas.
We thank the companies who permitted our use of their examples and
acknowledge those who's information we found in the public domain.
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POLLUTION PREVENTION
&
RECYCLING IDEAS
AT WORK
I'. S. EPA ikf-iou HI
?'-t'i/i.;;r;::i C»-;jter for Environmental
Infr.r'rsr.lion
tr:f;0 Af.-h .'Street (3FM52)
Philadelphia, PA 19103 ,;•-,..;.;-
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A New Castle, Delaware company that manufactures rigid polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) plastic film has reduced its hazardous waste by over 3200 pounds a year. They
did it by changing from leaded to non-leaded lubricating oils in some of their
equipment
A Philadelphia suburban hospital
made a simple change in its food service
and saved itself an estimated $8,000 a
year in supplies, reduced its disposal
costs significantly, and even got some
advertising mileage out of it. The hospi-
tal accomplished all of that, plus pre-
vented pollution, by selling reusable cof-
fee mugs to replace the disposable polyurethane cups they had been using.
Through a relatively simple procedural change that took more thought than
technology, a Navy aircraft repair facility saved itself an average $8,000 per aircraft
in waste disposal costs and reduced its hazardous waste from paint stripping by an
average 60 percent. All they did was stop covering the floor under an aircraft with
paper while stripping paint.
These initiatives are indicative of a trend now sweeping through American
business and industry—SAVE MONEY BY PREVENTING POLLUTION. They
are also evidence that pollution prevention (P2) activities don't have to be grand in
design to be meaningful.
The next several pages will offer you a look at what some companies, large and
small from within the region and beyond, are doing to save money while helping
protect the environment. The examples are projects that are in place and working in
American business and industry today. They are presented as very briefcase studies
intended more to stimulate your thought processes than to offer specific answers.
They are ideas that are making a difference for their companies, things that you can
adopt or adapt to fit your situation, things that are proven to affect profits as well as
the environment.
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Speaking about the kinds of companies cited, Alfred Marcus, an associate
professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Management says "They don't
do these things because they are in love with nature. They do it because it's smart."
In a recent speech before the Internationa] Institute of Synthetic Rubber Produc-
ers, Monsanto's CEO Richard J. Mahoney said "Our waste elimination initiatives will
allow us to recoup some of the $ 150 million worth of raw materials and energy which
each year does not end up in a product for a customer."
P2 is working, for the companies doing it and for our environment. We hope that
you'll find something in here that motivates you to join us. Whatever you decide to
do, or not do, will leave its mark—if not in your bottom line, most certainly in the
earth's.
Although EPA promotes the prevention or reduction of pollution at the source as
the preferred action, the Agency recognizes the realities that not all waste can or will
be eliminated. There will always be things to discard. Even Allen Hershkowitz, a
waste disposal expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council, says "... civiliza-
tion has its costs. We're trying to reduce them, but we can't eliminate them."
Consistent with that, EPA has established a range of appropriate activities. This
"Pollution Prevention Hierarchy" serves as the outline for this publication and as your
reference pointas you consider your options for improving your fiscal posture through
pollution prevention.
,
I, Pollution should be prevented w reduced at thesowce
% I^tulion that cainnot fee prevented sJwnW betecjcfed
3, Pollution thateatHioi t>e prevented; w recycled should be treated
4 'Asa lastmort, pollution that cannot be prevented, mycted, or treated
Should be disposed in a» eRvironmenfciJly safe manner
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PREVENTION AT THE SOURCE
While there are many activities that the general public considers as pollution
prevention, EPA's position is that the only way to truly prevent pollution is to stop
creating waste up front Anything less than that yields something which must be
disposed of or treated at some point during its life cycle.
This typically requires a change in the manufacturing process or, in some cases,
the procedures following production. As you will see, these need not be as drastic or
as costly as they would appear at first glance.
EPA strongly advocates this option as the preferred, as the true pollution
prevention activity.
PROCESS CHANGES
In the opening example, the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), a naval aircraft
repair facility located on the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, made a simple change
in a "we've always done it this way" procedure to achieve a 60 percent reduction, by
weight, in hazardous waste and an estimated savings of $6,000-$10,000 per aircraft
in disposal costs.
Naval Aviation Depot employees developed a method to reduce hazardous waste emissions and
disposal costs by using a new paint stripping method that does away with Kraft paper
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** In the Depot's paint stripping process, solvents used to remove paint from
aircraft contribute significantly to the depot's hazardous waste stream. Compounding
that, workers routinely covered the floor with a coated paper to catch the droppings.
This simple procedure may have been great housekeeping but contributed significantly
to their waste disposal problems because it made the paper a hazardous waste.
In other times ithad made sense to use the paper to keep the"mess" off theconcrete
floor and out of the drains. 'Today," says NADEP's environmental specialist Kevin
Sommers, "we realize we were actually manufacturing hazardous waste, to the tune of
an average 20 drums per aircraft." They eliminated the paper, allowing the paint and
un-evaporated solvents to drop directly
onto the floor. Workers now simply squee-
gee up the mess, filling an average of four
drums per aircraft.
** In its metal stripping process,
NADEP substituted an organic, protein-
based solution called B-9 for the more
common but more toxic cyanide solution.
This reduced the hazardous waste from
this process by 75 percent, saved $15,000
a year, and reduced the amount of other
metal-stripping compounds needed be-
cause B-9 is more versatile. As a bonus,
they also made the process itself safer for
the employees.
** The Joseph Krow Fur, Leather
and Suede Co. in North Versailles, Penn-
sylvania installed an advanced filtration
and distillation unit to recover perchloro-
ethylene, a cleaning solvent. The distilled
solvent is reused in the leather cleaning process, reaping substantial savings on the
purchase of virgin solvent. In addition to that savings, the new system eliminates
disposable filter cartridges, meaning a savings in the purchase, disposal, and cleanup
associated with them.
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** Tyler Pipe in Macungie, Pennsylvania produces cast iron soil pipe for the
plumbing industry. Until recently it had been using acoke-fired furnace to melt the iron,
producing vast amounts of sludge from an exhaust scrubber; the company was
spending as much as $300,000 a year to dispose of it.
To remain fiscally viable, Tyler converted to electric induction furnaces, which
yield only small amounts of dust requiring treatment and disposal, and which requires
no water treatment. In addition, the process reduced energy consumption, reduced loss
of metal through oxidation, and substantially reduced the amount of hazardous waste
and related disposal costs. Tyler estimates first-year operating savings of$10-$12a
ton.
** The General Dynamics Land Systems plant in Eynon, Pennsylvania initiated
a comprehensive hazardous waste minimization program in 1984. From 1984 through
1991, the program has resulted in a 96 percent decrease in hazardous waste generation
(1122 tons annually to 49 tons). The decrease is attributable to one or more of the
following approaches: 1) administrative controls; 2) materials substitution, and 3)
engineering changes. The facility anticipates additional reductions in 1992 resulting
from the application of more stringent administrative controls and the introduction of
a solvent recovery system.
** The coatings on medicinal capsules and tablets are traditionally solvent based.
Merck & Co, in West Point, Pennsylvania, has developed a water-based film coating
that has reduced chloroform and alcohol emissions by ten-fold. Similarly, 3M's
pharmaceutical unit developed a water-based coating for its tablets which, although
costing $60,000, resulted in a 24 ton annual reduction in air pollution, a $180,000
savings in pollution control equipment, and a $15,000 annual savings in material costs.
** To eliminate the use of mercury bearing Thimerosal in one of its biological
manufacturing processes, Merck's pharmaceutical and research plant in West Point,
Pennsylvania, has developed, tested, and received FDA approval for a substitute agent.
** At its plant in Danville, Pennsylvania, Merck eliminated a caustic purification
step in one of its drug manufacturing processes merely by changing the quantities of
the ingredients. In doing so, it has reduced air emissions, reduced flow to wastewater
treatment, and saved the company over $280,000 a year with no capital expenditures.
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** The American Mirrex Co. manufactures rigid poly vinyl chloride (PVC) plastic
film at its plant in New Castle, Delaware. By abolishing water soluble glycol-based oils
from their processes they eliminated several thousand pounds of glycol waste residuals
from their annual wastewater.
** Engineers at DuPont, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, figured a way
to adjust a production process in one of its plants to use less of just one raw material. In
doing so they cut the plant's 110-million-pound-a-year waste rate by two thirds. The
change also increased yield and cut costs for a net savings of $1 million a year.
** DuPont's agriculture division has developed a new generation of herbicides that
break down faster, leave less residues, and can be applied in small doses.
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** In its auto paints and coatings division DuPont is developing a water-borne
paint that will eliminate the need for solvents currently used to deliver the paint to the
car's surface. Although still in developmental stages with no estimates available,
eliminating the use of solvents will eliminate the introduction of solvents into the air
through the spray process and in water or landfill through the drippings which must be
cleaned up and treated.
** At Monsanto, workers at the Nitro, West Virginia plant changed raw material
requirements and cut their total emission of toxic fumes by over a third.
POST-PROCESS CHANGES
** Merck substituted citric acid for the 30 percent phosphoric acid solution it had
been using to clean stainless steel manufacturing and research equipment. The change
eliminated phosphate from the wastewater while maintaining the required pH levels in
the effluent.
** At its Danville, Pennsylvania plant, Merck recovered usable solvents through a
distillation process that yielded solvents of a quality suitable for reuse in the
manufacturing process. Cost savings for 1990 were over $100,000 and projections
look to recovering over 195,000 gallons of solvents a year.
** Unable to eliminate the use of heavy metals in its metal plating operations, NADEP
changed the after-plating rinse process to recover heavy metal particles flushed from
the surface. They now recover 98-99 percent of the cadmium from
the wastewater, reduce the amount of cyanide in the wastewater by 95 percent, and
reduce the amount of water used by 70 percent.
MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES CAN HELP. TOO
** The Composite Products venture at Air Products and Chemicals, near Allen-
town, Pennsylvania has developed a process to grind up old tires into small particles and
then chemically change their surface characteristics, and their uses. As an additive to
polyurethane resin it improves several of the polymer's qualities, saves energy in
production, and costs less than virgin polyurethane resin.
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The company is working on a similar process to use scrap plastics.
** The American Mirrex plant in New Castle, Delaware removed over 3200
pounds of hazardous waste a year from their waste stream by changing from leaded
to non-leaded lubricating oils in some of their equipment
In a separate action, the company changed a cleaning agent and eliminated
approximately three pounds of tetrachloroethylene and methy lene chloride from their
yearly waste stream.
** 3M installed set-back thermostats in one of their facilities to control heating
and cooling during non-operating hours. For a one-time investment of $ 11,800, they
save $56,000 in annual energy costs.
** 3M operates a 105 van ride-sharing pool that
saved 53 million commuter miles and 3.4 million
gallons of gas, and also eliminated 2.3 million pounds
of air emissions since 1973.
** At Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington,
Pennsylvania, the physical plant layout forced the
hospital into using all polystyrene products in its caf-
eteria operation. Hoping to make an environmental as well as a budgetary impact
while rennovating to accomodate washable dishware, nutrition director Bob Vasek
decided to sell reusable coffee mugs.
Eight months into the program, the hospital has sold 536 mugs, each emblazoned
with the hospital logo on one side and their "AWARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT'
slogan on the other. The hospital sold the mugs at their cost of $2.60 each, offered a
50 percent savings on fill-ups the first month of the program, offers an on-going $.10
per cup discount for each mug refill, offers a free mug-full with the daily breakfast
special, and runs monthly specials on "mug-fulls" of such things as soup and yogurt
that are normally sold in styrene bowls.
In return, they estimate that they'll save $8,000 this year by not buying roughly
270,000 styrene cups, and they know they'll save landfill space. As a side benefit,
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** In its auto paints and coatings division DuPont is developing a water-borne
paint that will eliminate the need for solvents currently used to deliver the paint to the
car's surface. Although still in developmental stages with no estimates available,
eliminating the use of solvents will eliminate the introduction of solvents into the air
through the spray process and in water or landfill through the drippings which must be
cleaned up and treated.
** At Monsanto, workers at the Nitro, West Virginia plant changed raw material
requirements and cut their total emission of toxic fumes by over a third.
POST-PROCESS CHANGES
** Merck substituted citric acid for the 30 percent phosphoric acid solution it had
been using to clean stainless steel manufacturing and research equipment. The change
eliminated phosphate from the wastewater while maintaining the required pH levels in
the effluent.
** At its Danville, Pennsylvania plant, Merck recovered usable solvents through a
distillation process that yielded solvents of a quality suitable for reuse in the
manufacturing process. Cost savings for 1990 were over $100,000 and projections
look to recovering over 195,000 gallons of solvents a year.
** Unable to eliminate the use of heavy metals in its metal plating operations, NADEP
changed the after-plating rinse process to recover heavy metal particles flushed from
the surface. They now recover 98-99 percent of the cadmium from
the wastewater, reduce the amount of cyanide in the wastewater by 95 percent, and
reduce the amount of water used by 70 percent.
MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES CAN HELP. TOO
** The Composite Products venture at Air Products and Chemicals, near Allen-
town, Pennsylvania has developed a process to grind up old tires into small particles and
then chemically change their surface characteristics, and their uses. As an additive to
polyurethane resin it improves several of the polymer's qualities, saves energy in
production, and costs less than virgin polyurethane resin.
-------
The company is working on a similar process to use scrap plastics.
** The American Mirrex plant in New Castle, Delaware removed over 3200
pounds of hazardous waste a year from their waste stream by changing from leaded
to non-leaded lubricating oils in some of their equipment
In a separate action, the company changed a cleaning agent and eliminated
approximately three pounds of tetrachloroethy lene and melhy lene chloride from their
yearly waste stream.
** 3M installed set-back thermostats in one of their facilities to control heating
and cooling during non-operating hours. For a one-time investment of $ 11,800, they
save $56,000 in annual energy costs.
** 3M operates a 105 van ride-sharing pool that
saved 53 million commuter miles and 3.4 million
gallons of gas, and also eliminated 2.3 million pounds
of air emissions since 1973.
** At Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington,
Pennsylvania, the physical plant layout forced the
hospital into using all polystyrene products in its caf-
eteria operation. Hoping to make an environmental as well as a budgetary impact
while rennovating to accomodate washable dishware, nutrition director Bob Vasek
decided to sell reusable coffee mugs.
Eight months into the program, the hospital has sold 536 mugs, each emblazoned
with the hospital logo on one side and their "AWARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT'
slogan on the other. The hospital sold the mugs at their cost of $2.60 each, offered a
50 percent savings on fill-ups the first month of the program, offers an on-going $.10
per cup discount for each mug refill, offers a free mug-full with the daily breakfast
special, and runs monthly specials on "mug-fulls" of such things as soup and yogurt
that are normally sold in styrene bowls.
In return, they estimate that they'll save $8,000 this year by not buying roughly
270,000 styrene cups, and they know they'll save landfill space. As a side benefit,
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TREATMENT
As a last resort, when all else has failed and something remains to be disposed of,
EPA recommends proper treatment to render the material non-hazardous before
disposal.
BMY Combat Systems in York, Pennsylvania is replacing a conventional
chemical precipitation system with an evaporator/crystallizer and filtration system to
eliminate wastewater discharges, produce distilled water of a quality higher than the
public water supply previously used, reduce water consumption, and enhance
product quality through improved rinsing. This improved rinsing, combined with
procedural changes, is expected to reduce the amount of wastewater treated by more
than 75 percent.
The new system is also expected to yield a five-fold reduction in the amount of
hazardous wastewater treatment sludge generated. Those solids that are generated
will be reclaimed and processed into raw materials for industry. This will eliminate
the continuous discharge of industrial wastewater into the Susquehanna River basin
and reduce the amounts of corrosive waste and treatment sludges from about 1.5
million pounds a year to about 30,000 pounds. Reclaiming the sludge will divert an
estimated 16 tons of hazardous waste annually, resulting in an annual savings of
$75,000 - $150,000 in avoided disposal costs.
** R.D. Werner Co, Inc in Greenville, Pennsylvania extrudes aluminum to
make ladders, scaffolds, and staging. In 1987 the firm produced 4.7 million gallons
of corrosive hazardous waste that cost them $176,000 to dispose of. An effective
although unspecified waste minimization program has eliminated the need for
sulfuric acid and reduced the need for landfilling solids and treating hazardous
waste.
They replaced chlorinated solvents with mineral spirits. They send the dirty
mineral spirit solutions off-site for recycling/reclamation and reuse the cleaned
solution.
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By eliminating chromium from the cooling water treatment, Werner has
removed the need for extensive treatment of the waste.
Werner removes liquid sludge from its waste stream by turning it into a solid
filter cake, which it then sends to a reclamation facility to extract the aluminum for
use in making alum.
To remove alumnium from its extrusion dies, Werner uses a sodium hydroxide
solution. This process generate a corrosive liquid with a high pH that used to be
disposed of a hazardous waste.
Through its various process changes Werner has been able to isolate the
resulting sodium alumniate from in its wastestream and turn it into a commercial
substitute for virgin material. The company produced 1.2 million gallons of sodium
alumniate and is now expanding its market, making this former hazardous waste a
commercially viable reclamation product.
** Most of NADEP's liquid wastes flow to the industrial wastewater treatment
plant for treatment before discharge. The plant treats about 100,000 gallons a day,
creating a sludge that qualifies as hazardous waste. By adding a drier to the pre-disposal
process, NADEP reduced the volume of sludge by over 50 percent, from 450,000 pounds
a year to less than 200,000. They estimate their savings in hazardous waste disposal at
$40,000 a year.
** Reichhold's Cheswold, Delaware plant manufactures emulsion polymers. By
installing a $1.3 million hybrid biological treatment system and a new main vacuum
system, the company reduced its air emissions by 70 percent between 1987 and 1990.
** One team of Monsanto employees made changes in a filtration technology and
eliminated 800,000 pounds of hazardous waste a year.
** Another team reduced sewage sludge from one manufacturing process by 2.3
million pounds and reduced landfill waste by another 1.5 million pounds.
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TREATMENT
As a last resort, when all else has failed and something remains to be disposed of,
EPA recommends proper treatment to render the material non-hazardous before
disposal.
BMY Combat Systems in York, Pennsylvania is replacing a conventional
chemical precipitation system with an evaporator/crystallizer and filtration system to
eliminate wastewater discharges, produce distilled water of a quality higher than the
public water supply previously used, reduce water consumption, and enhance
product quality through improved rinsing. This improved rinsing, combined with
procedural changes, is expected to reduce the amount of wastewater treated by more
than 75 percent.
The new system is also expected to yield a five-fold reduction in the amount of
hazardous wastewater treatment sludge generated. Those solids that are generated
will be reclaimed and processed into raw materials for industry. This will eliminate
the continuous discharge of industrial wastewater into the Susquehanna River basin
and reduce the amounts of corrosive waste and treatment sludges from about 1.5
million pounds a year to about 30,000 pounds. Reclaiming the sludge will divert an
estimated 16 tons of hazardous waste annually, resulting in an annual savings of
$75,000 - $150,000 in avoided disposal costs.
** R.D. Werner Co, Inc in Greenville, Pennsylvania extrudes aluminum to
make ladders, scaffolds, and staging. In 1987 the firm produced 4.7 million gallons
of corrosive hazardous waste that cost them $176,000 to dispose of. An effective
although unspecified waste minimization program has eliminated the need for
sulfuric acid and reduced the need for landfilling solids and treating hazardous
waste.
They replaced chlorinated solvents with mineral spirits. They send the dirty
mineral spirit solutions off-site for recycling/reclamation and reuse the cleaned
solution.
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By eliminating chromium from the cooling water treatment, Werner has
removed the need for extensive treatment of the waste.
Werner removes liquid sludge from its waste stream by turning it into a solid
filter cake, which it then sends to a reclamation facility to extract the aluminum for
use in making alum.
To remove alumnium from its extrusion dies, Werner uses a sodium hydroxide
solution. This process generate a corrosive liquid with a high pH that used to be
disposed of a hazardous waste.
Through its various process changes Werner has been able to isolate the
resulting sodium alumniate from in its wastestream and turn it into a commercial
substitute for virgin material. The company produced 1.2 million gallons of sodium
alumniate and is now expanding its market, making this former hazardous waste a
commercially viable reclamation product.
** Most of NADEP's liquid wastes flow to the industrial wastewater treatment
plant for treatment before discharge. The plant treats about 100,000 gallons a day,
creating a sludge that qualifies as hazardous waste. By adding a drier to the pre-disposal
process.NADEPreduced thevolumeof sludge by over 50percent, from450,000 pounds
a year to less than 200,000. They estimate their savings in hazardous waste disposal at
$40,000 a year.
** Reichhold's Cheswold, Delaware plant manufactures emulsion polymers. By
installing a $1.3 million hybrid biological treatment system and a new main vacuum
system, the company reduced its air emissions by 70 percent between 1987 and 1990.
** One team of Monsanto employees made changes in a filtration technology and
eliminated 800,000 pounds of hazardous waste a year.
** Another team reduced sewage sludge from one manufacturing process by 2.3
million pounds and reduced landfill waste by another 1.5 million pounds.
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** DuPont sells wastewater treat-
ment services to 1,000 outside custom-
ers from around the country, who bulk
ship chemical waste to the plant for
treatment. DuPont uses carbon filtra-
tion and micro organisms to remove
toxins and yield clean water.
ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Although "alternative fuels" conjures up images of incineration, the following
examples demonstrate that there are imaginative sources of energy available to the
enterprising manager.
While waste incineration may be a viable option, it is most certainly a conten-
tious one over which the debate continues to rage, particularly in terms of where it
fits into the P2 equation. Some make the argument that incineration reduces the
volume of material destined for landfills; others counter that it merely transfers the
pollutants from one medium (i.e., soil or water) to another (i.e., the air).
Some companies report success at converting their own solid waste to energy.
One company on the west coast actually survives (thrives) by burning scrap tires to
generate electricity which it sells to the public utility. Monsanto has been experi-
menting with the mass burning of scrap tires for energy and some cast cement
companies have been burning shredded tires in their kilns for years.
** 3M uses hot exhaust from air pollution equipment to conserve energy. Through
process changes and equipmentmodificationsatoneofitsplants,3M captures 80 percent
of theexhaust air, recirculating half of it in product driers and burning the other half to
make steam for use in the plant. With a capital outlay of $690,000, they save $460,000
annually in energy costs, conserve 86 billion BTU's annually, and eliminate 5 million
pounds of air emissions annually.
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** In one of its laboratory/office complexes, 3M uses a different approach to
energy innovation. The gas and oil-fired engines used to generate the facility's
electricity give off heat in the exhaust and in the cooling water. 3M captures that heat
and uses it to drive steam turbines to generate more electricity and to warm water for
space heating.
** In yet another plant 3M spent $50,000 to install circulating fans in product-
drying oven-rooms. By mixing hot air from the ovens with fresh air from the outside,
the plant uses less energy to heat the incoming air and has cooler, more comfortable
oven-rooms. For their investment they save 8 billion BTUs a year and eliminate
900,000 pounds of air emissions
** In Virginia Beach, the city's operating landfill provides naturally occurring
methane to an electricity generating station located on site. The city leases land to a
private company under contract to build and operate the plant. The company pays the
city $10,000 a month for the methane, which it bums to generate electricity for sale to
the local power company. By design, the plant will generate nine-mega-watts of
electricity, enough to power 10,000 homes a year, while saving 150,000 barrels of oil
each year.
** The eight cities comprising Virginia's Hampton Roads area have joined to form
the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA) to coordinate waste management.
The Authority operates several transfer stations to which the cities bring their collected
household waste. SPSA sorts out the recyclables and converts the rest of the trash to
Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) which it either burns for energy at its plant or ships to the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard for fuel to power a trash-to-steam plant. SPSA also shreds tires
and adds the particles to the RDF.
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Under terms of an agreement negotiated by The International Fabricare Institute,
which represents most of the dry cleaning industry, a contractor picks up used solvents,
processes them, and sells recharged solvents back to the members at more affordable
rates than any single independent could expect The contract also indemnifies the
independent members from any spills or mishaps once the contractor picks up the
materials.
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The National Paint & Coatings Association has recently initiated a pollution
invention award program for its memebership. "The awards will recognize outstanding
achievement by members of the paint and coatings industry in protection of the
environment through waste minimization and/or toxic reduction technologies or
practices," says Association President Jerome J. Crowley, Jr. Programs will be
evaluated on the basis of effectiveness, replicability (i.e. feasibility of adoption by other
similar manufacturing operations), financial feasibility, sustainability, and benefit to
the paint and coatings industry.
GOVERNMENT'S ROLE
Government regulation should be the answer of last resort, not the preferred
alternative. EPA realizes that; business and industry realize that. Self regulation is
better than governmental regulation.
Robert P. Bringer, 3M's vice president for environmental engineering and pollu-
tion control, says that his company, like any other, wants to develop new products more
quickly. "But," he continues, "regulations have the opposite effect; they are time
expanding. So, if we get rid of the pollution, we get out from under the regulation."
Monsanto's Mahoney put it this way. "... cleaning up early, and doing it your way,
is in the best financial interests of the corporation. Doing it with our creativity pays
dividends—rather than waiting to comply with a 'one size fits all' prescription thought
up by others."
Talking about 3-M's pollution prevention initiatives, Bruce W. Piasecki, an
associate professor of environmental management at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute
said "The company is run by a group of executives who believe in making decisions
without relying on signals from the Government."
While not abdicating its regulatory and enforcement roles, EPA recognizes the
realities of economics and the desirability of avoiding the need for regulations. Under
the progressive administration of William K. Reilly, EPA is taking a position that
voluntary observance of guidelines is as important and effective as compliance with
regulations; and is offering up such guidance.
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EPA has established a list of 17 specific chemicals that it, in concert with industry,
believes to be of such concern that they require immediate attention. The Agency has
requested American industry to voluntarily reduce its emissions of those "chemicals of
concern" by 33 percent by the end of 1992 and by 50 percent by the end of 1995, with
1987 as the base. All indications are that industry is accepting the "33/50" challenge,
echoing Mahoney's belief that it's better for them to do it their way than to have to do
it somebody else's way, implying hope that compliance will stave off regulations.
Aware of the savings that can be realized
merely by switching to modern energy effi-
cient lighting, EPA has launched what it calls
its Green Lights program. Just one such bulb,
over its lifetime (about 10 times that of the
average bulb), can save over 500 pounds of
coal or nearly one barrel of oil while eliminat-
ing over 380 pounds of carbon emissions.
Business and industry nationwide — like
Region Ill's Aristech Chemical Corp, Bell
Atlantic, The Oliver Carr Co, Crestar Bank,
Energy User News, the National Wildlife
--• Federation, Thrift Drug, USF&G, and Waste
Management Inc — have joined forces to
multiply those benefits several fold as they "re-light" their offices and plants. Cooper-
ating companies are realizing savings in supply costs and manpower to change bulbs
because of the longer life of such bulbs.
EPA provides financial incentive for pollution prevention initiatives in several
ways. Depending on the offense, Region III aggressively attempts to negotiate penalty
reductions in exchange for P2 actions. The Region has granted over $ 100,000 in penalty
relief in exchange for millions of dollars worth of pollution prevention enhancements.
The Agency makes grant money available to qualified businesses to help
finance research, design, and construction of pollution prevention projects. Region
III has several million dollars outstanding in approved P2 grants, and it was a
Region III grant that made the Delaware Reclamation Plant a reality.
18
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CONCLUSION
Pollution Prevention is an EPA priority that will take us into the 21 st Century. The
Agency sees it as the preferred alternative to dealing with hazardous waste or, for that
matter, waste in general.
P2 is a lot like the current trend in quality, which is away from quality control that
merely rejects defects toward quality assurance that attempts to build quality into the
process. Like the quality effort, pollution prevention will require a change in attitude,
a change in thinking, a change in mind set. And like the quality initiatives, pollution
prevention will reap its own rewards for its devotees, commensurate with the level of
commitment.
19
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CONTACTS NOTES
Abington Memorial Hospital
Attn: Ms. Beth Ann Neill
Director of Public Relations & Marketing
1200 Old York Rd.
Abington, PA 19001
(215) 576-2022
Air Products
Attn: Mr. BernieBauman
Manager, Composite Products
7201 Hamilton Blvd
Allentown.PA 18195
(215)4814911
American Mirrex Corporation
Attn: Mr. George H. Hull
Manager, Safety, Health &
Environmental Affairs
PO Box 728
New Castle, DE 19720
(302) 836-7605
BMY Combat Systems
Attn: Paul Lagowski
Sr. Facilities Engineer
Wolfs Church Rd
York, PA 17405
(717) 225-3400, ext 2544
City of Virginia Beach
Attn: Mr. Wade Kyle, Administrator
Department of Public Works
Waste Management Division
Municipal Center
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
(804)430-2450
E.I. DuPont
Attn: Mr. Randy Price
Environmental Issues Manager
1007 Market St. Suite N-l 1531
Wilmington, DE 19898
(302)774-3066
20
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CONTACTS NOTES
General Dynamics Land Systems Division
Attn: BeaHamor
175 East Street
Eynon.PA 18403
(313)825-7858
J&L Specialty Products Corp
Attn: Michael A. Gipko, Manager
Corporate Environmental Control
12th St. & Midland Ave.
Midland, PA 15059
(216) 875-6296
Joseph Krow Fur, Leather and Suede Co.
Attn: David Rosenblatt
467 East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Blvd.
North Versailles, PA 15137
(412)664-7200
Merck & Co
Attn: Mr. James Velez
Environmental Project Engineer
PO Box 4
West Point, PA 19486
(215)661-3289
Monsanto Company
Attn: Mr. Stephen R. Archer
Manager, Environmental Communications
800 North Lindbergh Blvd
SL Louis, MO 63167
(314)694-6572
Naval Aviation Depot
Attn: Ms. Nannette Davis
Public Affairs Officer
Code 004, BldgV-9
Norfolk, VA 23511-5899
(804)444-2933
21
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CONTACTS NOTES
Philadelphia Electric Co.
Attn: Mr. Michael Wood
Sr. Media Relations Representative
2301 Market St,S13-l
Philadelphia, PA 19101
(215)841-4125
R.D.Werner Co, Inc.
Attn: Dennis DeSilvey
Facilities Engineer
93 Werner Rd
Greenville, PA 16125-9499
(412)588-8600
Reichhold Chemicals
Attn: Mr. James Evans
PO Drawer K
Dover, DE 19903
(302) 736-9221
3M Corporation
Attn: Mr. Lowell F. Ludford
Director of Corporate Information
& Media Relations
Public Relations Office
3MCenterBldg225-lS-15
StPaul.MN 55144
(612) 733-6154
Tyler Pipe Industries
Attn: Mr. Thomas J. Stewart
Vice President and General Manager
Box 35, Church St.
Macungie.PA 18062
(215)966-3491
W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
Attn: Mr. Marty Healy
295 Blue Ball Rd
Newark, DE 21921
(302)738-4880
22
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Produced By:
Office of Public Affairs
Region 3
841 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA.
Text By:
Albert W. Peterson, APR
Public Affairs Chief
Illustrations By:
Laury Zicari
Environmental Services Division
Desktop Publishing By:
Carolyn E. Szumal
Office of Public Affairs
Color By:
Frances R. Saputo
Facilities Management and Services Branch
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Federal Recycling Program
Printed on Recycled Paper
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