Washington State Department of Ecology

Vol.22, No.2, March 2012

ShopTalk Online

Join the ShopTalk Listserv today!

Your business is liable for all the dangerous waste you generate. If you are uncertain about your responsibilities as a dangerous waste generator, call your nearest Ecology office and ask for a hazardous waste specialist.

Do you have a pollution prevention success story? Your business could be featured on the P2 Success Story pages.
Click here for more information.

Shoptalk is produced by the Washington State Department of Ecology's Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program.

Editor
Mariann Cook Andrews
(360) 407 6740; E-mail: maco461@ecy.wa.gov

Production/layout:
Cathy Bouge

Technical Editor:
Tom Cusack

Ecology Services Add Value to Business

Photo: Photo of Decagon Devices in Pullman, Washington.

Decagon Devices, Pullman, benefited from Ecology's
help to eliminate the use of lead in solder, maintaining
sales in countries that forbid importing
lead-bearing products.

Since 2005, Washington businesses say Pollution Prevention Planning has saved them $45 million. That $45 million in savings would pay for 900 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pollution Prevention Planning is just one of Ecology’s programs that help businesses reduce costs and avoid risk while protecting the environment. Other service programs are:

E-Team energy audits
Technical Resources for Engineering Efficiency (TREE)
Lean and Environment
Local Source Control Partnership

Companies throughout the state have benefited from these programs. For example:

Accra-Fab, Inc., Liberty Lake, saves $187,000 annually in avoided wastewater management and treatment costs.
Aim Aerospace, Renton, eliminated 20 percent of their dangerous waste through process changes and more efficient use of materials.
GM Nameplate, Seattle, saved $12,000 over five years just in disposal costs, by eliminating 13,173 pounds, 53 percent, of their dangerous waste.
Hollister-Stier, Spokane, saved $205,000 last year by switching from ethyl-ether to acetone.

You can find more success stories and further explanation of these services in the focus sheet Pollution Prevention: Ecology Services Add Value to Business and on the Pollution Prevention Success Stories Web page.