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PBT – P2

PBT – P2. Preventing Pollution: A Tool to Reduce and Eliminate Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes Basin. Through collaboration, shared value, and applied problem solving, P2 can influence the management of PTSs by:. Reducing treatment, transport, and disposal costs

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PBT – P2

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  1. PBT – P2 Preventing Pollution: A Tool to Reduce and Eliminate Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes Basin

  2. Through collaboration, shared value, and applied problem solving, P2 can influence the management of PTSs by: • Reducing treatment, transport, and disposal costs • Minimizing compliance issues and cost associated with regulated wastes • Reducing future liability through reduced risks to workers, communities, and the environment • Avoiding costs of accidents and spills • Improving production times • Enhancing public image and community relations

  3. Examples of successful P2 practice in the Great Lakes Basin include: • Household Hazardous Waste Collections • Mercury Free Hospitals and schools • Tribal Burn Barrel Strategies • Pesticide Cleansweep Programs • Regulatory actions By targeting specific sources of use, such as: • schools, hospitals, end-of-life automobiles and dental offices • 505 lbs. of elemental mercury recovered from auto switches bound for crushing and shredding operations (NY) • 8,187 mercury containing devices reclaimed from households, school laboratories, doctor’s offices and clinics, recovering 621 lbs. of mercury (MI)

  4. Current and Future Considerations • As the global market for manufactured goods becomes more competitive, improved efficiency in the use of natural resources is integral to a sustainable economy and society. Waste reduction and the elimination of potentially harmful substances in the design of products is now becoming an important principal in how things are made. • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) • Environmental Management Systems (EMS) • Green Engineering • Green Chemistry • Design for the Environment (DfE) • Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP)

  5. What is working • The cyclical use of materials • Targeting specific toxic chemicals for replacement • Defining materials flows is resulting in the creation of products designed to be recycled • Service oriented programs are also being created to take back products at end of life • The use of alternative fuel and energy sources is also considered a marketable indicator in new the Green Label Initiative • Offering incentives –financial, regulatory, public perception

  6. Where we are going • The waste reduction and elimination models now being practiced in some industries provide a new vision • If we consider that in all natural systems, waste equals food, ecosystem sustainability is an easy concept to grasp • Innovative solutions through strong partnerships are needed to recognize that in both human and natural systems, sustainability is an outcome of relationships among the parts

  7. What is missing: • Larger scale coherent P2 plan • Many local/regional successes but no larger scale program to tie together • No prioritization by contaminant, mode of release, etc. • Integration with other efforts • P2 can play a role in many areas (drinking water, wastewater, clean air, AOC cleanup, groundwater, WTE, power generation, etc.), but not all parties are at the table • Methods to learn from mistakes • Focus on lb kept from environment precludes learning from failures

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