Challenge is the thing about Pollution Prevention (P2) that piques and maintains my professional interest as an environmental consultant. The first challenge for me was to learn how to change our industry’s business/environmental paradigm from grudgingly just complying with environmental regulations to embracing P2 as part of their profit centre.
It is amazing to think back to the 80’s and early 90’s when the “environment” was a real hard sell to industry. Our approach as environmental consultants, especially to small and medium enterprises (SME’s), was often totally wrong and arrogant. Our original focus was also mainly on waste management or treatment instead of prevention.
Here’s an actual incident from 1993: “Oh, hi John. I see you recommend that we start collecting our processor effluent and have it picked up for disposal at a cost of $200 a drum, ten grand a year, something about aquatic life forms eh? Well buddy, I got three little life forms at home that need their daddy to make some money, so when I see the fish swimming upside down I’ll worry about it then. You know where the door is…”
Seeing that treatment was not appealing to many clients, we then attempted “front of pipe” instead of “end of pipe” P2 solutions, but we still wore the enviro hat instead of the business solutions suit.
“Let me see, John. You want me to stop using XYZ solvent that has been working well for us for 10 years, is low cost, is readily available from a number of suppliers, and is a standard raw material in our industry. And you want me to replace it with a higher cost, slower working aqueous product available only from a couple of sources because it has less volatile compounts‚Ķthat would give my competitors a real edge‚Ķhmmm let me think about this while you show yourself out. You do know where the door is eh?!”
The P2 cause was helped, certainly, when tougher regulations came into effect. Most high profile and larger companies got on board in a hurry, but the majority of SME’s ignored the new rules until either forced to deal with them by inspectors or until they were shown a cost and efficiency benefit. Another challenge as a consultant, therefore, was learning the importance of understanding and relating P2 to their business model—in business parlance, reciprocity—I had to show a real Return on Investment.
The Toronto Region Sustainability Program, delivered through OCETA, has been very effective in making environmental stewardship more attractive to business owners. By offering a substantial cost-sharing inducement, the client becomes a contractual partner in the whole P2 assessment process. Now we can conduct a comprehensive, facility-wide confidential assessment, and make collaborative strides towards business efficiency, pollution prevention (P2), and community-based sustainability. The results have been amazing, leading to CCME and other national-award-winning success stories.
In our industry, we have come a long way in environmental awareness, and our current challenge is to promote and produce sustainable results in real reductions of persistent toxins and pollutants. This is best achieved by companies integrating waste reduction, R&D, and P2 procedures into core management systems. The approach has to be made from a cost saving or even revenue-generating perspective. Today, promoting a proactive “green” image is a growing marketing trend in business. As consultants, we must use a “consultative” approach, as that is what our clients pay us for. We need to feel their pain, share their problems, and, by becoming problem solvers, we will become a viable resource and therefore successful ourselves. Everybody wins: our clients, the environment, and ourselves.
One example is the printer who used an expensive, high-VOC solvent in a printing press auto wash system mixed 50/50 with water. He also had to pay a high price to have the spent waste solvent/wash picked up by a licensed hauler. By studying the process, discussing the background with the operator and suppliers, and investigating the options, we learned that the press equipment supplier dictates what type of solvent they use, according to the warranty on the press and the fact that they also supply the solvent. This type of monopoly really ties up the printer! He can’t use any different solutions without losing the warranty and technical support.
So we took another approach. I took a sample of the waste solvent/wash to a local manufacturer of recycling equipment. They modified a distillation unit to clean, separate, and recapture the solvent and the water. We tested the recycled solvent, both on the press and in the lab, and compared it with the virgin product. The recycled solvent proved successful, and the owner has realized an 80% savings, not just on the cost of the solvent but also on the reportable VOCs previously purchased. The savings on the waste haulage alone were enough to pay for the recycler in a year. Then there is the reduction in the delivery and pickup truck emissions (smog and greenhouse gases) and 21 tonnes of class 213I hazardous waste is eliminated. There is also a saving on the cost of floor space for inventory of virgin and waste drums and the manpower to handle them. The manifesting costs are saved, as is the reporting to the MOE—not to mention the tax credit for R&D and experimental scientific development. Cost savings were $45,760 and VOC reduction was about 7.5 tonnes per year. This is just one P2 item with a whole lot of benefits for the business and the environment. (See P2 Case Studies examples on the OCETA web site for more details /www.oceta.on.ca/TORSUS/).
Most of us want to help “save the planet” (now there’s a challenge) from the negative effects of industrialization, consumerism, and ignorance. The old adage “think globally but act locally” is so true. If we are to succeed, we certainly cannot rely on our government. It’s up to us individually, and collectively, to educate, promote, and inspire others to take up “The Challenge.”
