TABLE OF CONTENTS Waste minimization has been a primary objective of wastewater, hazardous waste, air, and solid waste management programs since the earliest days of industrial waste treatment. Many academic programs have instructed that a crucial responsibility for an environmental engineer is to reduce the amount of pollutants that require treatment prior to discharge.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the cornerstone of surface water-quality protection in the United States. It was enacted to sharply reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways, finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and manage polluted runoff. The broader goal is restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation s waters so that they can support the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water. [1]
What may not be included in environmental engineering curricula is the concept that pollution prevention and waste minimization can result in a significant decrease in overall operating costs and a consequent increase in profitability. During the 1980s, the U.S. Congress authorized in-depth studies to analyze the financial impacts of pollution prevention on businesses and industries. The result was the emergence of pollution prevention as a central concept within industry. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the nation is coming to understand pollution prevention s value as an environmental strategy, as a sustainable business practice, as a fundamental principle for all our society (U.S. EPA, 2004). [2].
The term pollution prevention includes all aspects of waste minimization and pollution reduction and...
