Ecology Department, businesses cut hazardous waste by 110 million pounds in eight years

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - March 17, 2003

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Ecology Department, businesses cut hazardous waste by 110 million pounds in eight years

OLYMPIA - Pollution-prevention assistance by the state Department of Ecology helped Washington businesses cut the amount of hazardous waste they produce by 110 million pounds from 1992 to 2000.

Since 1992, the Ecology Department (Ecology) has provided technical assistance to help facilities achieve the greatest hazardous-waste reductions possible both economically and technically. Hazardous-waste production went from 317 million pounds in 1992 to 207 million pounds in 2000.

Environmental scientists and engineers at Ecology consult with companies that manufacture products such as circuit boards, chemicals and plastics. The assistance involves evaluating manufacturing processes and making suggestions about process improvements, better equipment, using products that are less toxic and using smaller amounts of hazardous substances in production. All together, these efforts can cut wastes significantly.

Currently, 685 facilities design and implement pollution-prevention plans. The pollution-prevention system has produced results, with fewer toxic materials used and disposed in landfills.

"Our pollution-prevention program is a true partnership between Ecology and the facilities we work with," said Greg Sorlie, who manages Ecology's hazardous-waste and toxics-reduction program. "We hear from a lot of companies that are proud of the results they've achieved by implementing the pollution-prevention plans we helped them with. This is a great success story, with communities and citizens as the winners."

Besides protecting the environment, pollution-prevention projects often save money, improve worker safety and create less need for additional treatment plants and landfills, said Sorlie.

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Media Contact: Caitlin Cormier, public information officer, 360-407-6149

For examples of facilities in Clark, Island, King, Pierce, Skamania and Snohomish Counties that have successfully used technical assistance from the Ecology Department in their pollution-prevention programs: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/p2/p2success.html

For more information:

The "Reducing Toxics in Washington progress report" - http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0204034.html