Waste Reduction for Pollution Prevention

Book excerpt: Waste Reduction for Pollution Prevention discusses the philosophy, regulatory background, and technical options dealing with waste minimization. The book explains waste reduction as a form of pollution prevention to minimize the amount of hazardous materials dumped into the environment. The 1984 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act amendments restrict the amount of waste that can be disposed on land. The approach of the United States is to address pollution after the problem has been created, where attention and resources of industry shift to regulatory compliance. The text notes that waste reduction is the key to preventing future hazardous waste problems. Examples of techniques of waste minimization are good housekeeping, changes in technology and procedures, raw material substitution, recycling, and waste exchanges. The book discusses the biological, thermal, and other emerging thermal processes for industrial waste management, as well as municipal solid-waste recycling, and the organization of a recycling program. The text can benefit economists, environmentalists, urban developers, and policy makers involved in waste management, community preservation and development.