ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the issue of waste minimization. Many hazardous waste problems can be avoided at early stages by waste reduction and waste minimization. Waste minimization can include treatment processes, such as incineration, which reduce the quantities of wastes requiring ultimate disposal. Reference is sometimes made to waste abatement in terms of the four Rs — reduction, reuse, reclamation, and recycling. Legislation promoting waste minimization is contained in the US Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Under this act the US Environmental Protection Agency is required to formulate and conduct strategies of pollution prevention. Toxicity reduction is always listed as a major goal of the practice of industrial ecology. The most effective approaches to minimizing wastes center around careful control of manufacturing processes, taking into consideration discharges and the potential for waste minimization at every step. Metals are the predominant contaminants of waste oil that are of concern.