ABSTRACT
This chapter provides examples that explain why eliminating and preventing waste as a first step toward sustainability is so important. If a waste assessment is conducted before a business purchases new production equipment or machinery, it may be discovered that less machinery requiring less energy can be used and that fewer resources and support materials are needed. A thorough waste elimination and prevention program should always be implemented before 'improving' a production process or program or purchasing new machinery or equipment. A printing-and-publishing and integrated-operations team from Parlin, New Jersey, designed, tested and implemented a new system to recycle acetone/ water waste solvent back into a production process for manufacturing toners. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working to double the battery life of smartphones by reducing the electricity needs of the phone rather than focusing on the battery.
