These links provide additional information about a variety of pollution prevention topics and related issues.
U.S. General Services Administration's Sustainable Facilities Tool: This tool is a one-stop online resource to support decision-making regarding sustainable building principles, materials, and systems. Targeted to help project personnel identify and prioritize cost-effective, sustainable strategies for small projects that do not normally engage workplace consultants or designers, the tool helps users understand and select environmentally preferable solutions for renovations, alterations and leases. Key features of the tool include a 3-D interactive walkthrough of office interiors and material comparisons that prompt visitors to consider multiple aspects of office performance, and suggest detailed material and system choices to help green the workplace. The website also features sustainable metrics, links to essential regulations and guidelines, case studies, and an easy to navigate user interface. For Federal users, it provides useful information to meet and exceed sustainability mandates.
"Lean Ecology" Resources
Lean Ecology is the bridge that joins productivity and profit with pollution prevention and environmental responsibility. Taiichi Ohno, the "father" of the Toyota Production System (also known as Lean), said that "the basis of [Lean] is the absolute elimination of waste." It is through this aggressive reduction of waste that companies throughout the world are enjoying breakthrough productivity gains. The "absolute elimination of waste" aligns with the goals of those who care about pollution prevention and reducing environmental impact. Lean provides a proven method to make those reductions a reality.
- EPA's Lean and Environment Toolkit: This toolkit is intended to enable Lean practitioners to improve both their business performance and their environmental performance by identifying and eliminating environmental wastes at their organizations. The toolkit offers practical strategies and tools for integrating environmental considerations into Lean initiatives in ways that support Lean’s focus on the elimination of waste and non-value added activity.
- EPA's Lean and Energy Toolkit: This toolkit was developed by EPA to assist organizations in reducing energy use and improving performance through Lean manufacturing— the production system developed by Toyota and employed by thousands of companies throughout the US.
- Department of Ecology Lean Case Studies
- EPA's Lean in Government Starter Kit
Pollution Prevention Information
EPA Greener Products Web Portal: The site is designed to help the user navigate the increasingly important and complex world of greener products. It allows users to search for EPA programs related to greener products based on the type of user and their specific product interests. It also links to additional greener products information from EPA and other sources.
P2Rx: A network of pollution prevention regional centers provide easy access, high quality pollution prevention information, including case studies and general p2 implementation as well as those for specific sectors and topics.
Manufacturing
- Aerospace (Manufacturing processes used in the aerospace industry)
- Industrial Composting
- Lean and Environment (and E3) (A systematic approach to integrating lean production, workforce development, energy efficiency and pollution prevention - to identify and eliminate waste (non-value-added) in manufacturing and services)
- Meat Processing (Economic and environmental information related to meat processing operations)
- Metal Fabrication and Machining (Processes involved in the manufacture of complex metal parts and their environmental impact)
- Metal Finishing (Application of paints and coatings to metal surfaces through mechanical, spray, chemical bath, and electro-deposition)
- Oil and Gas (Material inputs, processes used, and waste produced in drilling, oil and gas production, and pipeline operations)
- Paint and Coating Manufacturing (Manufacture of house paints, industrial coatings, special purpose coatings, and other paint products)
- Pork Production (Options for improving animal waste management for pork producers including methane recovery, thermochemical conversion, constructed wetlands, and composting)
- Semiconductor Manufacturing (Information about technologies and operating practices that reduce energy, water, hazardous, quantities and costs of waste and inefficiencies in the semiconductor manufacturing industry)
- Ship Building & Repair (Common shipyard processes and operations and their impact on the environment)
- Technology Diffusion (Concepts of technology diffusion and related concepts, factors involved in adoption or rejection of innovations)
- Textiles (Major production steps in the manufacture of textile goods)
- Wood Furniture Manufacturing (Steps in P2 for wood furniture manufacturing)
Commercial/service sector
- Auto Body (Key processes, materials used, and wastes produced in auto body facilities)
- Auto Repair (Material inputs and wastes produced in the automotive repair industry)
- Biotechnology Labs
- Dry Cleaning (P2 opportunities, alternative technologies, regulatory review, and description of operations of dry cleaning)
- EMS (Environmental Management Systems for Small to Medium Enterprises [manufacturers with less than 500 employees])
- Fiberglass Fabrication (Key processes and raw materials used in the manufacture of fiberglass reinforced products)
- Food Service (Wastes generated from food services operations and the environmental regulations that apply)
- Hospitality (Waste streams of facilities that provide lodging or short-term accommodations and meals for travelers)
- Marinas and Small Boat Harbors (Services and activities carried out at facilities that rent slips to tenants)
- Mercury - Automotive (Sources of mercury in automobiles, alternatives, recycling options, regulations)
- Mercury - Dental (Typical sources of mercury waste in dental offices)
- Residential Construction (Green building practices for builders, designers and architects)
- Ski Areas (Environmental factors and trends influencing year-round on-mountain ski area operations)
Government
- Community Growth (Common issues relating to community growth and its environmental impact)
- EMS in Government (Description of benefits government entities might consider prior to moving to EMS production)
- Public Lands (Application of P2 to reduce environmental and economic impacts in public land management)
- Publicly Owned Treatment Works (P2 information and resources for POTWs)
Education & Schools
Other P2 topics
- Cleaner Solutions Database (Toxic Use Reduction Institute's database linking performance evaluations to environmental assessments to help users replace hazardous solvents)
- Electronic Waste (Alternatives to incineration or landfills in disposing of electronic equipment)
- Household Hazardous Materials (Consumer products that contain substances harmful to human health or the environment)
- Lead (Information, regulations, health effects of lead in consumer products and the environment)
- Mercury (Information, regulations, and health effects of mercury in consumer products and the environment)
- Mercury - Thermostats (Alternatives to mercury thermometers, recycling options and regulatory requirements)
- Pollution Prevention (Strategies for reducing the use of toxic substances, eliminating hazardous waste, and conserving water and energy)
- Product Stewardship
- Regulatory Integration (Incorporation of P2 principles into existing core environmental programs)
Additional information on Environmental Management Systems. Additional information on Energy Efficiency & Renewable Technologies.
P2 Climate Change Tools
- EPA created the Recycled Content (ReCon) Tool to help companies and individuals estimate life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy impacts from purchasing and/or manufacturing materials with varying degrees of post-consumer recycled content.
- The Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator expresses quantities of GHGs in terms of metrics such as number of cars, gallons of gasoline, acres of forest, etc. This calculator is useful for expressing GHG reductions or emissions in a way that is easier to comprehend.
- EPA's Waste Reduction (WARM) Model is a tool that calculates and totals greenhouse gas emissions of baseline and alternative waste management practices: source reduction, recycling, combustion, composting, and landfilling.
Information on Compliance with Regulations