Waste reduction options

Now you can reconsider the material balance equations by adding those additional factors identified in the previous step. If necessary, estimates of unaccountable losses will have to be calculated. Note that, in the case of a relatively simple manufacturing plant, preparation of a preliminary material-balance system and its refinement (Steps 14 and 15) can usefully be combined. For more-complex P2 assessments, however, two separate steps are likely to be more appropriate. An important rule to remember is that the inputs should ideally equal the outputs - but in practice this will rarely be the case. Some judgment will be required to determine what level of accuracy is acceptable, and we should have an idea as to what the unlikely sources of errors are (e.g., evaporative losses from outside holding ponds may be a materials loss we cannot accurately account for). In the case of high concentrations of hazardous wastes, accurate measurements are needed to develop cost-effective waste-reduction options. It is possible that the material balance for a number of unit operations will need to be repeated. Again, continue to review, refine, and, where necessary, expand your database. The compilation of accurate and comprehensive data is essential for a successful P2 audit and subsequent waste-reduction action plan. Remember - you can t reduce what you don t know is therel... 

Step 19 Developing Long-Term P2 and Waste-Reduction Options... 

Economic evaluations of waste-reduction options should involve a comparison of operating costs to illustrate where cost savings would accrue. For example, a waste-reduction measure that reduces the amount of raw material lost down the drain during the process will reduce raw-material costs. Raw-material substitution or process changes may reduce the amount of solid waste that must be transported offsite, reducing the transport costs for waste disposal. 

In many cases, it is appropriate to compare the waste treatment costs under existing conditions with those associated with the waste-reduction option. The size of a treatment plant and the treatment processes required may be altered significantly by the implementation of waste-reduction options. This should be considered in an economic evaluation. 

Calculate the annual operating costs for the existing process that needs waste treatment, and estimate how these costs would be altered by the introduction of waste-reduction options. Tabulate and compare the process and waste-treatment operating costs for both the existing and proposed waste-management options. If there are any monetary benefits (such as recycled or reused materials or wastes), then these should be subtracted from the total process or waste-treatment costs as appropriate. The expanded cost-analysis scheme discussed in Chapter 8 is appropriate to include at this point in the process. 

Feasibility Analysis Phase The point in a pollution prevention program at which waste reduction options are evaluated technically, economically and environmentally. The results are used to select options to be recommended for implementation. 

Long-term waste reduction options identified (emphasis minimization of hazardous waste) (Table 1.3)... 

Financial and environmental evaluation of waste reduction options (Table 1.4)... 

Long-Term Waste Reduction Options Identified (Emphasis Minimization of Hazardous Waste)... 

Calculate annual operating cost for existing processes including waste treatment and/or disposal costs Determine potential savings for each waste reduction option ... 

Determine investment required for each waste reduction option Determine financial attractiveness of each option and rank options Evaluate the environmental impacts of each option ... 

The Technology Clearinghouse Unit is currently in the process of developing a series of industry-specific waste reduction guidance documents and fact sheets. These fact sheets are aimed at informing industry of the waste reduction options available, and encouraging industry to request and implement the more technically complex industry-specific waste reduction audit reports chat have been developed and published by the Alternative Technology Section over the last two years. 

The waste reduction options included within the study were also incorporated into the checklist. A two column format was chosen to provide more information on the proposed option. The left column contains the question from the checklist and the preferred answer, which is highlighted. The right column provides an explanation of the potential benefit associated with the option, or a description of the option. The options addressed by the checklist were then tabulated and are included in Appendix A. 

The following example will illustrate this process. Example Evaluate the following two options to determine the most attractive Waste Reduction option. 

A profitability worksheet is a simple economic evaluation intended to calculate rough estimates of projected costs, savings, and payback periods associated with each waste reduction option. These worksheets do not take into account amortization, depreciation, or tax factors. 

In May 1993, the U.S. EPA and DuPont completed a joint 2-year project to identify waste reduction options at the DuPont Chambers Works site in Deepwater, New Jersey. The project had three primary goals as conceived ... 

Phases I to n have covered planning and undertaking waste audit, resulting in the preparation of a material balance for each unit operation. Phase IV represents the interpretation of the material balance to identify process areas or components of concern. Figure 4 represent a material balance algorithm for the textile industry in establishing waste reduction options. 

Phase III Synthesis. (/) Identify options identify opportunities, target problem areas, and confirm options. 2) Evaluate options technical, environmental, and economic. (J) Prepare action plan waste reduction plan, production efficiency plan, and training. 

When deciding which options to pursue as part of a waste-reduction action plan, consider each option in terms of environmental and economic benefits. 

The various waste-management options namely, source reduction, recycle/reuse, treatment, and disposal. 

The primary objective is to develop an appropriate range of waste management options to be analyzed more fully in the detailed analysis phase of the FS.12 Appropriate waste management ensures the protection of human health and the environment. It may involve, depending on site-specific circumstances, complete elimination or destruction of hazardous substances at the site, significant reduction of concentrations of hazardous substances to acceptable health-based levels, and prevention of exposure to hazardous substances via engineering or institutional controls, or some combination of the above. 

Making companies prepare plans which focus on safer chemical use has proved particularly successful in the USA. The benefits of mandatory pollution prevention planning have been demonstrated in the state of Massachusetts. Here, over 550 companies had to assess toxic use reduction options with technical help supplied by university and government experts. Toxic use reduction strategies included material substitution and product reformulation. Within ten years, industry has reduced the use of toxic chemicals by 40%, by-product waste by 58% and toxic emissions by 80%. A cost benefit analysis reveals that the same companies saved a total of Saved a total of USD 14 million (Euro 18.76 million) overthis period through the adoption of more efficient and safer processes. The programme is ongoing and has been expanded to community outreach and assessment of substitutes forsome hazardous material flows and products within the state. 

Owing to its comprehensiveness, LCA is a powerful tool for comparing different options/products with respect to their potential impacts on the environment, and for identifying the critical points within the product life-cycle that contribute most to these impacts [15]. This approach can be used, for example, for comparing a product that includes ENMs with similar products without ENMs. The added benefits of the use of ENMs may be reflected in the differences in the energy consumption for production of materials or products [29, 30], or in the use of scarce resources in the production processes. In other words, LCA may be used to assess the relative environmental performance of nanoproducts in comparison with their conventional equivalents. Thereby, LCA may also quantify the expected positive potentials of nanoproducts for the substitution of hazardous chemicals, the reduction in the use of materials, and energy consumption, in addition to waste reduction. 

Treatment of waste should be considered only after source reduction and recycling options are fully addressed. Treatment includes methods for separation of the metals fraction from the wastes stream. This typically involves neutralization, precipitation, filtration and drying operations. Waste treatment, although often desirable and necessary, is not considered to be a waste minimization option by the USEPA... 

Some examples of source reduction options for reducing wastes associated with abrasive cleaning include ... 

Source reduction options useful for reducing the metals content of the waste stream, as well as increasing the yield of elemental commercially salable sulfur, include the following methodologies ... 

After Section One of the manual (the checklist) has been completed and responses have been recorded on the implementation potential worksheets, Section Two can be used to prioritize the selected options. Section Two contains tables of the waste reduction opportunities discussed in the checklist. The tables, consisting of... 

The four factors that are used in evaluating the options are 1) Waste Reduction Hierarchy (WRH), 2) Implementation Potential (IP), 3) Type of option, and 4) Cost of option. 

This factor is used to categorize the option within the waste reduction hierarchal structure. The preferred hierarchy is source reduction, resource recovery and recycling, and alternative treatment (The fact sheet on waste reduction for metal finishers can help identify an option s place within the hierarchy.) Each category or level has a point value assigned to it. The six levels are ... 

The WRH in column one has been completed by the authors for each option. If you have an option that is not included in the list of options you may add it to the list and assign it an appropriate WRH value. Source reduction has the greatest point value because source reduction is usually the easiest and cheapest methods of waste reduction to implement. Treatment, on the other hand, is on the lower end of the scale and is considered to be the least desirable option. Treatment is discouraged as the first alternative in hazardous waste management. These point values are selected by the authors. If you feel that they should be modified you should feel free to change them when you use the WRAM. 

Four "types" or classes of options are identified. If these four classes are not sufficient to classify all of the options available, add or modify these classes to represent your particular shop s options. This manual is only meant to be a guide to evaluate shops with waste reduction in mind. The four classes are ... 

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