" Likewise, Miller resells its brewer's yeast to food processors instead of wasting it.
The brewery is saving money by administering its pollution prevention program. Taken together, source reduction and recycling annually are saving the company $3 million (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.). "Capital outlays for the bulk quantity handling and storage systems and the recycling machinery total $200,000. No additional labor costs have been incurred to maintain the reduction and recycling initiatives. Accounting for capital depreciation, the payback period for Miller Brewing's waste reduction initiatives is less than 3 years," (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.).
Electronics: Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc.
The electronics manufacturing industry has a lot of room for improvement and Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex is taking some steps towards reducing pollution at the source. The elimination of 1,1,1-trichloroethane vapor is one of the main targets for the company. One cleaning system that was actually designed in-house "from obsolete process equipment" ended up eliminating "one source of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and spent halogenated solvent waste (F001)," (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.).
Reducing sludge was a key to pollution reduction for Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex. In addition to retrieving usable elements such as nickel and chromium from the sludge waste, the company also installed a sludge dryer and a filter press to reduce the total quantity of the sludge that went to landfill. Moreover, the water retrieved from the sludge press was reused in the rinse baths (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.).
Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex records high cost savings due to the implementation of its pollution prevention program. "Overall annual savings for the waste reduction projects implemented at the facility are almost $800,000 per year…HB/PS now realizes net annual savings of $95,000 from eliminated solvent purchases and hazardous waste disposal expenses. Thus, the simple payback period was less than 1-year" from the time of implementation (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.). The cost of waste disposal also went down significantly, by $25,000 per year and only two years of recuperating what had been invested in new sludge handling systems (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.).
Construction: C.C. Mangum, Inc. (now Mangum Asphalt Services)
The construction industry is also a major polluter, but new methods of pollution prevention are at least helping the industry become more sustainable. Incorporating scrap shingles into pavement is one way that pollution prevention programs are working in the construction industry (North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance n.d.).
The chart in Appendix a illustrates the different pollution prevention techniques used by various of pollution prevention, which is why pollution prevention programs must be feasible, easy to implement, and not too costly. Initial cost expenditures are often minimal compared with the savings created from reducing waste and also minimizing the costs involved with hazardous waste disposal. Because of these core financial incentives, it is easy to see how pollution prevention programs rarely need to be enforced at the legislative level.
Pollution prevention is also good for the long-term growth of companies in all industries. Marketing departments can capitalize on the novel methods used to prevent waste and reduce emissions. The creation of new pollution prevention technologies can lead to value-added services. In short, pollution prevention can be as good for business as it is for the environment.
It is therefore recommended that each organization determine for itself which strategies are most effective. There are no hard and fast solutions for pollution prevention, because each sector and each company within each sector works with different chemicals, different materials, and different production techniques. Some companies will need to work more closely with suppliers to reduce total waste output in their collective sector, as Miller Brewing switched to reusable sacks to replace wasteful bins. Pollution prevention entails a multi-faceted and creative approach to sustainable business.
Appendix a
Textile Manufacturing
Dyebath reuse
Reduce steam loss
Chemical reduction
Government Agency/Service
Energy reduction (heat, a/C, water) Product changes (coffee cups, recycled paper)
Conscientious use (switch to email, double-sided photocopies)
Food and Drink
Reusable bulk containers
Company-specific reuse of organic waste
Electronics
Sludge reduction
Reuse of sludge minerals
Construction
Reuse of shingles
References
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1990). Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Retrieved online: http://www.epa.gov/p2/pubs/p2policy/act1990.htm
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 2011). Pollution prevention. Retrieved online: http://www.epa.gov/p2/
North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance (n.d.). Case Studies. Retrieved online: http://www.p2pays.org/ias/case.asp?page=SIC
The National Pollution Prevention Round Table (2011). Pollution prevention: Moroccan Textiles Industry. Retrieved online: http://www.p2.org/wp-content/uploads/morocco-brochure.pdf
Seymour, J. (2004). Case Study: The Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved online: http://www.p2pays.org/ref/41/40952.pdf
State of Washington Department of Ecology (n.d.). Pollution prevention. Retrieved online: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/p2/index.html
University of Texas at Austin (2008). Pollution prevention. Retrieved online: http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/water/pollution.html
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