Waste Reduction Unit

Personnel supporting waste reduction efforts include one supervisor, three lead senior staff, and a multidisciplinary team of 25 engineers and scientists. These personnel are employed in the Waste Reduction Unit, the Resource Recovery Unit, and the Technology Clearinghouse Unit. These three units comprised the Waste Reduction Program. Each unit s activities are discussed below. 

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The major activities undertaken by the Waste Reduction Unit include managing the Department s Hazardous Waste Reduction Grants Program and contracting for waste audit studies to assist California s smaller businesses in reducing their hazardous wastes. Each of these two activities is discussed below. 

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... 

Use the material balance for each unit operation to pinpoint the problem areas associated with a process. The material-balance exercise may have brought to light the origin of wastes with high treatment costs, or may indicate which wastes are causing process problems in which operations. The material balance should be used to set priorities for long-term waste reduction. 

UNIDO, Waste Reduction Auditing Manual, US/GLO/91/103, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Industrial Sectors and Environment Division, Vienna, Austria, 1991. 

Smooth scale-ups from R D laboratory or bench scale to pilot scale and then to commercial size batch-operated, multi-purpose chemical plants are often not easy to achieve for a variety of reasons, often resulting from compromises due to the need to use existing equipment. The consequences of this lack of scalability can be a reduction in product quality and yield, increased by-product formation, longer cycle times, and, in some cases, an inability to reproduce key product properties such as color, size, or crystal structure. These consequences invariably result in an increased use of mass and energy and a production of greater waste per unit mass of product. 

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. 

Additionally, the unit sponsors industry-specific waste reduction symposia, which are held throughout the State. In the past two years symposia on solvent waste management and oily waste management have been well attended by industry and... 

In an attempt to reach a broader base of individuals concerned with waste reduction, the unit has recently completed the specifications for the development of two one-half hour television documentaries to provide a broad overview of the concept of waste reduction as well as the issues impeding the successful implementation of waste reduction measures. The aim is to have the documentaries shown on public broadcasting stations and thereby reach the concerned public as well as industry. 

The staff of the Technology Clearinghouse Unit believes that a well-informed industrial sector, which is aware of the regulatory requirements, the waste reduction opportunities, and the economic benefits of waste reduction will actively seek alternatives to land disposal of hazardous wastes. 

Numerous scholars of the environment have noted several major differences between the way some of the advanced European industrial nations and Japan approach the problems of waste reduction and pollution abatement, and the general approach adopted by the United States over the years, i he European countries referred to here notably are the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany and, of course, do not include the former Soviet Bloc countries. 

The environmental impact per unit GDP (7) is not only a function of technology but also a function of human behavior and societal culture. Jackson shows that countries with the same GDP per capita show large differences in hazardous waste per unit GDP. For instance, Scandinavian countries, compared to Canada and the United States show, a similar GDP per capita but up to a factor 4 difference in hazardous waste per unit capita (18, p. 115). This difference is due to differences in culture. Scandinavian countries value nature more than does the United States. A good source for further reading on this aspect of wealth increase and impact reduction is von Weizsacker et al. (27). 

Toxics Use Reduction and Prevention By the mid-1980s, it was apparent to many people that certain toxic chemicals could not be managed safely and needed to be phased out or sunsetted . In 1987, attorney Sanford Lewis proposed legislation to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in Massachusetts and 2 years later the state legislature passed the Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA). The Act created the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) to help Massachusetts firms reduce their use of toxic materials. Today, compared to 1990, Massachusetts firms subject to reporting under TURA are generating 58% less waste per unit of product and have reduced on-site releases of federally reportable toxic chemicals by 90%. In addition, since 1990, quantities of chemicals shipped in product have been reduced by 47% (per unit of product shipped). 

This study involved the pollution prevention assessment of a metal parts coating unit to bring about pollution prevention through waste reduction by making process changes, while maintaining the same costs. 

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. 

There are also a series of specific indicators regarding the impact on environment. Each of these indicators, developed by IChemE [47], focuses on a particular environmental problem. The amount of the substance emitted is multiplied by its potency factor (PF), which expresses the specific contribution of substance to the environmental problem in question, per kg emitted. Potency factors are expressed in kg of a reference substance. All indicators are expressed in environmental burden per unit value added. Similar indicators have been developed by the Center for Waste Reduction Technologies [59] and the European Environment Agency [60] ... 

Emissions to land global waste generation is reported in the CER as an index calculated as the ratio of waste per unit of production to the figure in 1992. By 1995 this index had fallen to 87%, with further reductions to 67% in 1998. The absolute waste generation figures given in the internet report increased 3% to approximately 400 000 tons between 1992 and 1998. Hazardous waste this fell 5% to approximately 110000 tons between 1992 and 1998. 

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