Pollution Prevention

READ.

Under introduction,

• More than two billion tons of municipal solid waste are annually generated worldwide.

• Majority of environmental protection efforts are centered around treatment and clean-up of pollution.

• The passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 redirected industry’s approach to environmental management.

• Pollution prevention has become the environmental option of the 21st century.

READ.

Under introduction,

• More than two billion tons of municipal solid waste are annually generated worldwide.

• Majority of environmental protection efforts are centered around treatment and clean-up of pollution.

• The passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 redirected industry’s approach to environmental management.

• Pollution prevention has become the environmental option of the 21st century.

Typical waste management strategies

(ADDITIONAL: “End-of-pipe” means treating or removing contaminants from waste streams after they’ve been generated in a process.)

These concentrate on “end-of-pipe” pollution control.

Pollution prevention

It attempts to handle waste at the source.

Source reduction

It is an example of a proactive approach for pollution prevention.

READ.

Under introduction,

• As waste handling and disposal costs increase, application of pollution prevention measures becomes more attractive.

• Industry is exploring the advantages of multimedia waste reduction and developing agendas to strengthen environmental design while lessening production costs.

• There are profound opportunities for industry and individuals to prevent waste generation.

READ.

Under introduction,

• As waste handling and disposal costs increase, application of pollution prevention measures becomes more attractive.

• Industry is exploring the advantages of multimedia waste reduction and developing agendas to strengthen environmental design while lessening production costs.

• There are profound opportunities for industry and individuals to prevent waste generation.

Pollution prevention

It is now primarily stimulated by economics, legislation, liability concerns, and the enhanced environmental benefit of managing waste at source.

1980-1985

When did waste management begin to shift from pollution control-driven to pollution prevention activities?

Pollution Prevention Act of 1990

It declares that “waste should be prevented or reduced at the source wherever feasible, while pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled in an environmentally safe manner”.

Pollution Prevention Act of 1990

It established pollution prevention as a national policy.

Pollution prevention hierarchy

It establishes an order to which waste management activities should be employed to reduce the quantity of waste generated.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

What organization established the pollution prevention hierarchy?

1. Source reduction

2. Recycling

3. Treatment

4. Ultimate disposal

Enumerate the four (4) waste management activities from most to least prioritized in the pollution prevention hierarchy.

Source reduction

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

This includes practices that decrease, avoid, or eliminate waste generation.

Recycling or reuse

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It can be performed at the facility (on-site) or at an off-site reclamation facility.

Treatment

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It involves the destruction or detoxification of wastes into nontoxic or less toxic materials by chemical, biological, or physical methods, or any combination of these control methods.

Ultimate disposal

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

This is only included in the hierarchy because it is recognized that residual wastes will exist.

1. Land-filling

2. Land-farming

3. Ocean dumping

4. Deep-well injection

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

Enumerate the four (4) options for ultimate disposal listed in the module.

True

TRUE OR FALSE. EPA’s policy does not consider recycling or treatment as actual pollution prevention methods

Treatment

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It should be utilized only in the absence of feasible source reduction or recycling opportunities.

Recycling or reuse

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It refers to the use (or reuse) of materials that would otherwise be disposed of or treated as waste product.

Source reduction

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It can include implementation of procedures as simple and economical as good housekeeping.

Waste minimization

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It generally considers all of the methods in the EPA hierarchy (except disposal) appropriate to reduce the volume or quantity of waste requiring disposal.

Source reduction

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It is defined as “any practice that reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant entering any water stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal”.

True pollution prevention

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

Source reduction is considered as the ___.

Recycling or reuse

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

It is considered secondary to source reduction and should only be used when pollution can’t be prevented.

Treatment

(EXPLANATION: It is considered “preferable to other treatment methods because it can permanently destroy the hazardous components in waste materials” and reduce the volume of waste to be treated.)

POLLUTION PREVENTION HIERARCHY. Determine what is being asked below.

What waste minimization activity is waste incineration included?

READ.

Under recycling or reuse,

• Wastes that can’t be directly reused may often be recovered on-site through methods such as distillation.

• Off-site recovery at a permitted commercial recovery facility is often a possibility when on-site recovery or reuse is not feasible due to quality specifications or the inability to perform recovery on-site.

READ.

Under recycling or reuse,

• Wastes that can’t be directly reused may often be recovered on-site through methods such as distillation.

• Off-site recovery at a permitted commercial recovery facility is often a possibility when on-site recovery or reuse is not feasible due to quality specifications or the inability to perform recovery on-site.

FAMILIARIZE.

FAMILIARIZE.

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Under pollution prevention hierarchy,

• Several of these pollution-prevention elements are used by industry in combination to achieve the greatest waste reduction.

• Residual wastes that can’t be prevented or otherwise managed are disposed of only as a last resort.

READ.

Under pollution prevention hierarchy,

• Several of these pollution-prevention elements are used by industry in combination to achieve the greatest waste reduction.

• Residual wastes that can’t be prevented or otherwise managed are disposed of only as a last resort.

1. Multimedia analysis

2. Life-cycle analysis

Performance of pollution prevention assessments and their subsequent implementation encourage increased activity into two (2) methods that further aid in the reduction of hazardous wastes. What are these two methods?

Multimedia analysis

POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENTS. Determine what is being asked below.

It involves a multifaceted approach in fully understanding and evaluating all waste sources in order to properly design and then implement a pollution prevention program.

Life-cycle analysis

POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENTS. Determine what is being asked below.

In this assessment, impacts resulting during the production of a product or service must be evaluated over its entire history or life-cycle.

Total systems approach

POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENTS. Determine what is being asked below.

It is another term for life-cycle analysis.

Multimedia analysis

POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENTS. Determine what is being asked below.

It does not only consider one waste stream but all potentially contaminated media.

Life-cycle analysis

POLLUTION PREVENTION ASSESSMENTS. Determine what is being asked below.

This type of evaluation identifies “energy use, material inputs, and waste generated during a product’s life: from extraction and processing of raw materials to manufacture and transport of a product to the marketplace and finally to use and dispose of the product.”

1. An inventory of materials and energy used, and environmental releases from all stages in the life of a product or process

2. An analysis of potential environmental effects related to energy use and material resources and environmental releases

3. An analysis of the changes needed to bring about environmental improvements for the product or process under evaluation

Enumerate the three-part life cycle model.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA)

It is the key-element of life-cycle design.

Life-cycle assessment

It is generally envisioned as a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the cradle-to-grave life cycle of a product, process, or activity.

1. Raw material

2. Bulk material processing

3. Production

4. Manufacture and assembly

5. Use and service

6. Retirement

7. Disposal

Enumerate the seven (7) stages of a product’s life cycle.

Life-cycle assessment

READ.

Under life-cycle assessment,

• Maintaining an objective process while spanning this life cycle can be difficult given the varying perspective of groups affected by different parts of the life cycle.

• LCA typically does not include any direct or indirect monetary costs or impacts to individual companies or consumers.

Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Another fundamental goal of life-cycle design is to promote sustainable development at the global, regional, and local levels. What is the definition of “sustainable development”?

1. Sustainable resource use

2. Maintenance of ecosystem structure and function

3. Environmental justice

Enumerate the three (3) principles for achieving sustainable development.

Sustainable resource use

PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVEING SUTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Determine what is being asked below.

This includes conserving resources, minimizing depletion of non-renewable resources, using sustainable practices for managing renewable resources.

Solar energy

PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVEING SUTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Determine what is being asked below.

The supply of resources is finite, except for ___.

Sustainability

PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVEING SUTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Determine what is being asked below.

It requires that the health of all diverse species as well as their interrelated ecological functions be maintained.

1. Environmental racism

2. Environmental health

3. Environmental equity

4. Environmental politics

PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVEING SUTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Determine what is being asked below.

Enumerate the four (4) key elements of environmental justice.

READ.

Under sustainable resource use,

• There can be no product development or economic activity of any kind without available resources.

• Efficient designs conserve resources while reducing impacts caused by material extraction and related activities.

• Depletion of nonrenewable resources and overuse of otherwise renewable resources limits their availability for future generations.

READ.

Under sustainable resource use,

• There can be no product development or economic activity of any kind without available resources.

• Efficient designs conserve resources while reducing impacts caused by material extraction and related activities.

• Depletion of nonrenewable resources and overuse of otherwise renewable resources limits their availability for future generations.

READ.

Under maintenance of ecosystem structure and function,

• The issue of ecosystem health should be a more fundamental concern because it is difficult to imagine how human health can be maintained in a degraded, unhealthy natural world.

• As only one species in a complex web of ecological interactions, humans can’t separate their success from that of the total system.

READ.

Under maintenance of ecosystem structure and function,

• The issue of ecosystem health should be a more fundamental concern because it is difficult to imagine how human health can be maintained in a degraded, unhealthy natural world.

• As only one species in a complex web of ecological interactions, humans can’t separate their success from that of the total system.

1. Intergenerational environmental justice

2. Intersocietal environmental justice

PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVEING SUTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Determine what is being asked below.

Enumerate the two (2) types of environmental justice.

Intersocietal environmental justice

TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. Determine what is being asked below.

Enormous inequities in the distribution of resources continue to exist between developed and less developed countries, and within national boundaries.

Intergenerational environmental justice

TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. Determine what is being asked below.

Overconsuming resources and polluting the planet in such a way that it enjoins future generations from access to reasonable comforts irresponsibly transfer problems to the future in exchange for short-term gains.

Life cycle

It is a perspective that can consider the true costs of product production and/or services provided and utilized by analyzing the price associated with potential environmental degradation and energy consumption, as well as more customary costs like capital expenditure and operating expenses.

Traditional costing procedure (TCP)

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being described below.

It only takes into account capital and operating (including environmental) costs.

Comprehensive costing procedure (CCP)

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being asked below.

It includes not only the traditional capital and operating costs, but also peripheral costs such as liability, regulatory related expenses, borrowing power, and social considerations.

Life-cycle costing (LCC)

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being asked below.

This requires that all the traditional costs of project or product system, from raw-material acquisition to end-result product disposal, be considered.

Life-cycle costing

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being asked below.

It is usually applied to the life-cycle analysis of a product or service and has found occasional application in project analysis.

Comprehensive costing procedure

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being asked below.

It is the recommended procedure for pollution-prevention studies.

Traditional costing procedure

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being asked below.

It is relatively simple and can be easily applied to studies involving comparisons of different equipment, different processes, or even parts of processes.

Comprehensive costing procedure

ECONOMIC-RELATED TERMS. Determine what is being asked below.

It is the most realistic approach that can be employed in economic project analyses.

Obtainment of management commitment

What is the first step in establishing a pollution prevention program?

1. Planning and organization

2. Assessment phase

3. Feasibility analysis phase

4. Implementation

Enumerate the four (4) phases of the pollution-prevention assessment procedures.