A Citizen's Guide to
Greener Cleanups
What Are Greener Cleanups?
The process of cleaning up a hazardous waste site uses
energy, water, and other natural or material resources.
This process places demands on the environment and
creates an environmental "footprint" of its own. A greener
cleanup looks at this footprint closely and finds ways to
reduce it throughout the life of a project, while achieving
cleanup goals and preserving site reuse options. Early
consideration of the environmental footprint of a cleanup
can help lead to sustainable reuse or redevelopment of
the site.
How Does It Work?
A project team working toward a greener cleanup
considers many techniques to reduce the footprint
and compares their environmental advantages and
disadvantages.
Because site conditions vary widely, so do the
approaches and methods used to make a cleanup
greener. To help find ways to reduce a cleanup's
environmental footprint, possible environmental impacts
are grouped into five core elements shown in the graphic.
Here are just a few of the examples of activities under
each core element that promote greener cleanups:
• Energy use can be reduced by assuring all cleanup
equipment runs efficiently and is properly sized for
the task. For example, a less efficient pump might be
replaced by one that is more efficient and uses less
electricity. Using fuel-efficient trucks could reduce
use of diesel fuel. Greener cleanups also can find
ways to use solar, wind, or other renewable energy
Materials
& Waste
Energy
Land&
Ecosystems
Air&
Atmosphere
Water
The core elements of an environmental footprint.
Windmills power equipment to remove oil from contaminated
groundwater.
to power equipment. The use of renewable energy
reduces the electricity or natural gas needed from
local utilities.
• Impacts on the air and atmosphere can be
reduced by using less energy from utilities that rely
heavily on burning fossil fuels, such as coal or oil.
Air pollutants from site activities can be reduced
by adding filters to the exhaust systems of heavy
machinery and replacing machine engines with
newer, cleaner models.
• Water used during the cleanup process can be
recirculated and reused instead of using fresh
water. Water quality could be protected by building
soil barriers around a construction area to prevent
stormwater runoff, which can carry topsoil to nearby
streams and harm fish and other wildlife.
• Taking precautions to protect land and ecosystems
in the cleanup area could involve relocating animals
to safer areas or landscaping with native plants.
Restricting truck traffic to paved roads or to defined
pathways in unpaved areas avoids unnecessary
land disturbance and can protect soil and habitats.
• Materials and waste management maximizes
material reuse or recycling and minimizes waste.
For example, saving concrete, wood, or other
demolition materials for later construction activities
can significantly reduce a cleanup's environmental
footprint.
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How Long Will It Take?
Taking the steps to assure a
greener cleanup does not need
to delay cleanup progress. Simple
changes in field procedures such
as setting a "no-idling" policy
for machinery engines can be
made within days. In comparison,
changes such as installing a solar
energy system could take a year to
plan and months to construct while
cleanup progresses. Planning for
a greener cleanup at the beginning
instead of the middle of a project
can lead to the biggest reductions
in a project's environmental
footprint.
Simple changes in field procedures can reduce a
site's environmental footprint.
How Might It Affect Me?
All steps of a greener cleanup are meant to improve long-term health of a
community by protecting the environment in which we live. Many steps may go
unnoticed outside of the project team. Some may result in direct benefits to a
community, such as reduced traffic and noise due to fewer waste-hauling trucks
on the roads. Other greener cleanup methods could offer ways for individuals
to become more involved, such as finding local uses for uncontaminated scrap
metal, lumber, or demolition material.
Why Use A Greener Cleanup Strategy?
As a nation, we value land as a
natural, cultural, and economic
resource. Using a greener strategy
is often a smarter way to clean
up contaminated land. Greener
cleanups can help decrease the
use of fossil fuels such as oil and
coal. A greener strategy also could
lower cleanup costs by reducing
the amount of electricity and
materials that are used. In general,
a greener strategy started during
the early stages of a cleanup could
set the stage for sustainable reuse
or redevelopment of the site.
Heavy machinery used to remove contaminated
soil can run on ultra-low sulfur diesel.
Example
Owners of the Apache Nitrogen
Products, Inc., Superfund site
in Arizona, cleaned up contami-
nated soil and groundwater with
many green features.
• A wetland system was
constructed to remove contami-
nants from groundwater through
natural processes. The hillside
location of the wetland allows
water to flow through the
system without using pumps.
• Renewable energy powers
the equipment that recircu-
lates water through the
wetland.
• Treated groundwater is
pumped back underground to
replenish clean groundwater
supplies rather than releasing
it to creeks or ponds.
• Clay for the soil cap was
obtained locally, minimizing
transportation impacts.
These features help make a
cleanup greener by avoiding
chemicals sometimes used to
treat contaminants, reducing
the energy needed to operate
cleanup equipment, and
increasing the supply of
clean groundwater.
For More Information
For more information on this and
other technologies in the Citizen's
Guide Series, contact:
U.S. EPA
Technology Innovation &
Field Services Division
Technology Assessment Branch
(703)603-9910
Or visit:
www.cluin.org/greenremediation
NOTE: This fact sheet is intended solely as general information to the public. It is not intended, nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights
enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States, or to endorse the use of products or services provided by specific vendors. The
Agency also reserves the right to change this fact sheet at any time without public notice.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5102G)
EPA 542-F-12-009
September 2012
www.epa.gov/superfund/sites
www.cluin.org
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