Goals of the Pollution Prevention Research Program

ORD has defined six fundamental goals for the its pollution prevention research program. These goals build upon existing ORD pollution prevention efforts, and broaden the research scope to enable the Agency to identify, develop, demonstrate, and transfer effective pollution prevention technologies and techniques. These goals are to  

Stimulate the development and implementation of technologies and processes that result in reduced pollution. Numerous pollution prevention opportunities exist in manufacturing, mining, agricultural, and service processes. This goal addresses the need to focus research activities on these processes to enable broad-scale reduction in pollution generation. 

Expand the reusability and recyclability of wastes and products and the demand for recycled materials. Research is needed to improve the reusability and recyclability of wastes and products, and to increase the capacity and demand for recycled materials in production processes. Such improvements will prolong the useful life of materials and reduce the environmental impacts of wastes and pollutants from all waste streams. 

Identify and promote the implementation of effective non-technological approaches to pollution prevention. This research area includes socioeconomic and institutional factors that motivate behavior and foster changes in behavior as they relate to incentives for adopting pollution prevention techniques. Research is needed to understand the roles of non-technological factors in implementing pollution prevention approaches and their impact on the effectiveness of pollution prevention programs. 

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