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Pollution Prevention
Pollution Prevention spans the entire Environmental Health Section.
Contact:
Steve Tillotson, Assistant
Director
Division of Waste Management
918 East Divide Avenue, 3rd Floor
Bismarck ND 58501-1947
Telephone: 701.328.5166
Telecopy: 701.328.5200
Pollution prevention is reducing waste at its source. Simply put, pollution
prevention tries to eliminate the production of wastes in the first place.
Traditionally, businesses have focused on complying with "end of pipe" regulations
by managing wastes as they are generated. Pollution prevention can be applied
to many aspects of your business, including solid and hazardous waste management,
wastewater and storm water management, air emission controls, water conservation
and
energy conservation.
Goals for Pollution Prevention
Since all businesses are unique, the "perfect" pollution prevention solution
to that business is also unique. However, there are common goals which all
businesses should consider when implementing a pollution prevention plan
or process. For pollution prevention to be successful, the plan should strive
to meet the goals listed below:
- Reduce or eliminate pollutants at their source;
- Minimize or eliminate use of hazardous materials;
- Substitute less hazardous materials if possible;
- Assure that reducing pollution or waste from one source does not
increase or transfer pollution to another source; and
- Maximize the efficient use of natural resources.
Benefits for businesses include:
- Reduced operating costs.
- Reduced disposal and/or treatment costs.
- Reduced potential liabilities.
- Less regulation.
- Increased productivity.
- Appealing to the consumer market.
- Improved worker safety.
- Improved employee morale.
Project Showcase:
Landfill Methane
Outreach Program
The North Dakota Department of Health, Division of
Waste Management, recently joined the Landfill Methane Outreach Program
(LMOP) as a State partner. Through partnering with the LMOP
Organization, the Department plans to disseminate information to solid
waste facilities, citizens, businesses, and other organizations within
our state about the uses of landfill generated methane. Although
there are limited applications within the state at this time, we hope to
be able to answer questions and offer information to those groups which
are interested. LMOP will be used as a clearing house for data and
other useful information. We will ensure that solid waste
facilities within the state are aware that the State allows active
landfill gas collection as long as those activities are consistent with
the Solid Waste Management Rules. The Division of Waste Management
is open to exploring those options.
North Dakota Department of Health's Green
Building Committee
The Green Building Committee is currently
composed of professionals from the Department of Health. Green
Building Committee members discuss current opportunities in the work
place related to recycling, ways to reduce and re-use items that we
normally throw away, ways that we can conserve energy and natural
resources at work, and hazardous substance reduction.
Occasionally, in lieu of a monthly meeting, the Committee takes a
one-hour tour of a business with green building practices in place, to
see environmental strides that are being made locally. To learn more
visit the
Green
Building Committee
State Electronics Challenge
Is your organization interested in reducing the environmental impact of
the electronic equipment it purchases, uses, and disposes? If the
answer is "yes" please consider joining the State Electronics Challenge
(SEC). The SEC is a voluntary program, open free of charge to any
state, regional, and local government agency, including public schools,
colleges, and universities. The SEC promotes environmental stewardship
of computers - from purchasing "green" computers through power
management and responsible end of life management - resulting in
measurable reductions in energy, greenhouse gases, solid and hazardous
waste, and associated costs. In December 2009, the North Dakota
Department of Health, Division of Waste Management, was welcomed as the
first EPA Region 8 Partner in the SEC. Joining the SEC will help
you learn how your organization can benefit from the program's proven
action plan, implementation tools, and free technical assistance to
reduce the environmental footprint of electronic equipment. The SEC was
developed by the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc., and successfully
piloted in the Northeast over the past two years. It's modeled after
the Federal Electronics Challenge. If you are interested in
joining the SEC, please contact via e-mail:
Patty Dillon at the Northeast Recycling
Council or via telephone: 978.346.9462.
The following links are gateways to useful information regarding
pollution prevention:
Abogo - Transportation Costs Made
Transparent
Coalition For Conservation And Environmental Education
National Pollution Prevention Roundtable
North Dakota
Department of Commerce - Office of Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency
Our Earth
Peaks to Prairies Pollution Prevention
Information Center
Pollution
Prevention Resource Exchange
US Department of Commerce - International Trade Administration -
Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative
US EPA Auto Repair and Fleet
Maintenance Pollution Prevention
US EPA Pollution Prevention
Division Of Waste Management Home Page
Updated: 17 Jun. 2011
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