Pollution Prevention Workshops Offered by the Zero Waste Network
The University of Texas at Arlington's Zero Waste Network is offering a pollution prevention (P2) planning workshop to help businesses save money by reducing waste, bringing economic benefits through environmental improvements. The course will also help companies comply with the Texas Waste Reduction Policy Act (WRPA).
Held in partnership with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the workshop will teach lean manufacturing techniques and other strategies that businesses have used to improve efficiency while decreasing or eliminating pollution. Experts in pollution prevention, environmental management systems (EMS), environmental regulations, lean manufacturing, and energy efficiency conduct an interactive workshop with classroom exercises that allow businesses to immediately identify wastes in their process and evaluate money saving options.
The workshop is geared toward Environmental, Health, and Safety managers; plant managers; production personnel, engineers and related professionals. In 2007, workshop participants reported savings of more than $200,000 by implementing pollution prevention practices; they eliminated over 11,000 pounds of pollution, and reported improvement in compliance, energy use and water conservation.Workshop dates and locations are as follows:
Sept. 16-17, 2008 – Austin Sheraton Austin Hotel
Oct. 2-3, 2008 – Houston H.E.S.S. Center
Oct. 15-16, 2008 – Corpus Christi Ortiz Center
Nov. 5-6, 2008 – Dallas/Fort Worth UT Arlington Automation & Robotics Research Institute
British company announces plans involving Fayetteville
BY MARSHA L. MELNICHAK Northwest Arkansas Times
A Fayetteville economic leader said Monday that news of an international company teaming with a Fayetteville research and technology company to create fuel for cars from municipal waste could change the world.
INEOS, the third-largest chemical company in the world and largest privately owned company in Britain, announced Monday that it aims to produce commercial quantities of bioethanol fuel from landfill waste based on technology developed in Fayetteville.
“This could be a pivotal event for Fayetteville. It could be a pivotal event for the world, ” said Steve Rust, president and CEO of Fayetteville Economic Development Council. The process developed under the leadership of James L Gaddy, president of Bioengineering Resources Inc. of Fayetteville, changes any carbon-based material into ethanol. “ We expect the Fayetteville site to continue to be the technology center for INEOS Bio as it grows, ” said Bruce Walker, site manager for INEOS Bio in Fayetteville. INEOS Bio was created July 1. It was created, according to a press release issued at locations worldwide Monday, “ to commercialize and license” the technology that developed during the last two decades by BRI. Details are vague. Neither the press release nor Walker would say if it was BRI itself or the process developed by BRI that was purchased. “ The team in Arkansas has now joined together with INEOS to create a new, stronger, multidisciplinary and global INEOS Bio team, which has the skills, capabilities and resolve to commercialize the technology quickly, ” reads the history of INEOS Bio on the company’s Web site. As of Monday, the BRI phone number for its location at 1650 E. Pump Station Road is answered “ INEOS Bio.”
Jobs What the announcement means for Fayetteville is also vague. The number of jobs the new company could bring to Fayetteville and whether commercial production of the ethanol will be done in Fayetteville are not known. The press release Monday indicated the company aims to produce commercial quantities of bioethanol fuel from biodegradable municipal waste in about two years. However, neither the press release issued by parent company INEOS nor Walker would say where the site for the commercial facility will be. “ We expect to announce the location of the first commercial plant fairly shortly, and we will aim to quickly roll out our technology around the world, ” Peter Williams, INEOS Bio’s chief executive officer, is quoted as saying in the press release. Reading from a questionand-answer sheet about the company, Walker said it could be expected to create “ a number of direct, permanent, skilled jobs” to operate the plant, in addition to “ a larger number of temporary jobs” during construction and “ other permanent jobs ” as part of the supply chain development. “ The exact number of new jobs has not yet been determined, ” Walker said. He said the Q & A sheet was not written specifically about Fayetteville but is about INEOS companies in general. “ As the press release said, over the next two years, the big priority for us will be to demonstrate the technology in a commercial facility, but the site for that hasn’t been identified yet, ” Walker said. He said the pilot plant is in Fayetteville and the laboratories supporting the development of some of the technology are in Fayetteville. INEOS Bio of Fayetteville has about 30 employees, according to Walker. He said a large number of them were previously BRI employees. “ In a sense, Fayetteville has been an incubator for the underlying technology and has scaled it up to pilot plant size. The next step is to scale it up to commercial size, ” Walker said.
For Fayetteville “It’s a super, super big deal to have the research facility here,” Rust said. “To have that in Fayetteville is really tremendous. They’re building the pilot plant, the first scale-up short of production model, and that will be where they do all the future research on this.”
In addition, wherever the commercial plant is built, the technology will be from Fayetteville.
He said INEOS Bio would be bringing people and jobs to Fayetteville, but he did not know how many. The greater scope, he said, was that it should encourage more recognition of Northwest Arkansas as the “ Green Valley, ” the place to go to connect with innovators and leaders in the sustainability field.
He said INEOS Bio’s news helps put Fayetteville on the map because it will get coverage in Great Britain, other parts of Europe and hopefully across the United States.
“This is not a flash-inthe-pan type thing. It’s going to continue and grow, ” Rust said. “ We are the Green Valley, and I think the biggest reason is that we have the mothership of sustainability, Wal-Mart.”
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody described the INEOS Bio announcement as another block in the wall for Fayetteville as a center for sustainability.
“The plan is to develop a pilot plant here in Fayetteville that will be able to take our municipal waste and turn it into desperately needed clean fuel,” Coody said.
It also helps the area because it provides the green-collar jobs that Fayetteville is trying to attract.
“This particular situation is good for us to solidify our position in the world with the idea that Fayetteville, Ark., is a home for the new green technology, and that’s going to be very good for our local economy,” Coody said.
He said INEOS wants to put plants based on the Fayetteville technology all over the world. "This is not an overnight hit,” Coody said. “This is a long-term project, but true economic development for a city isn’t something that happens overnight.”
For the world The new process produces fuel from waste and eases waste disposal problems. It has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependency on foreign oil. The INEOS press release notes that until now one of the challenges with ethanol is that it is primarily manufactured from food crops. “ They’re turning corn into ethanol, but, you know, that’s crazy because you’re burning food in your gas tank. This is burning municipal waste, anything that’s carbon, ” Rust said. The ethanol produced by the INEOS process can either be blended with traditional fuels or replace them altogether, according to Monday’s press release. Williams is quoted in the press release as predicting that North America and Europe will see about 10 percent more gasoline being replaced with bioethanol. The three-step process has already been proven at the pilot plant in Fayetteville. According to the INEOS Bio Web site, the Fayetteville plant has operated continuously since 2003 on a range of waste materials. The first step of the process is intense heat, which reduces the organic material to a gas. The gas is cooled and combined with a bacteria developed by BRI to produce ethanol. The ethanol is then purified to make it ready for use in cars.
Enhancing Performance through Environmental Management Systems and Regional Initiatives
By Grady Coomes, REM, Environmental Coordinator, City of Dallas Water Utilities Department
We in the environmental profession are always trying to find ways to enhance our environmental programs and become more efficient with reducing our impact to the environment. Many times we find ourselves reacting to environmental compliance issues and seeking new ways to stay ahead of the game. A more proactive way to accomplish this is through Environmental Management Systems or EMS.
EMS is a systematic approach to both managing your environmental compliance and reducing your footprint on the environment. A continual system that integrates the environment into everyday business operations, EMS means that environmental stewardship becomes part of the daily responsibility of every employee. This can reduce your bottom line and save your organization money. The system is based on a simple PLAN - DO - CHECK - ACT Model. Under an EMS, you establish an environmental policy, examine your impacts on the environment, set goals and procedures to reduce those impacts, evaluate your progress, and make improvements as necessary.
In April 2005, the City of Dallas began implementing an EMS based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001) requirements. The purpose of the EMS was to improve the environmental performance and sustainability of the city, enhance accountability for compliance and stewardship, and to direct an environmental culture change throughout the city.
Since implementing EMS, the city has made significant improvements to sustainability, environmental compliance, operating procedures, and environmental awareness. Some of the more noteworthy accomplishments have been made in environmental performance. These areas include recycling, waste management, water quality, water conservation, air quality, energy consumption, and green building. For more information on City of Dallas EMS and sustainability initiatives, visit http://www.greendallas.net/.
EMS will also help your organization build partnerships with the community and other organizations. These partnerships are necessary to effectively manage regional environmental issues. In 2007, representatives from the City of Dallas, in conjunction with other public and private organizations, formed a regional EMS initiative to learn more about EMS. Since then, this public/private partnership (with assistance from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, and North Central Texas Council of Governments) was formalized as the North Texas Regional Environmental Management Systems Partnership (N-TREMS).
The partnership’s focus is using EMS to address regional issues and impacts such as air quality, water quality/resources, and waste. The idea is to set common goals to improve the environment for the North Texas region and increase environmental performance initiatives.
If you would like more information or would like to join N-TREMS, please contact Grady Coomes at grady.coomes@dallascityhall.com.
Upcoming National Environmental Partnership Summit
The Environmental Partnership Summit formed five years ago from the merging of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR), the Compliance Assistance Providers’ Form and the Performance Track Participants Association (PTPA). A gathering of interdisciplinary environmental professionals and assistance provider from all over the country and world, this summit is for those who want to learn how to put environmental stewardship into action.
This year’s theme is “Accelerating Environmental Performance: Pathways to Action”. The summit with demonstrate how a variety of business and government programs have taken the environmental lead and will show how others can do the same. In addition, it provides a great opportunity to network and exchange ideas with other fellow attendees and exhibitors.
The Summit will hold several training sessions, workshops, exhibitions, and discussions on Pollution Prevention performance, measurement, and methods, on Lean Manufacturing, on Environmental Management Systems, and on several other environmental topics. In addition, the Summit will feature several members of the Region 6 P2 Roundtable, including, Dianne Wilkins, Pollution Prevention Program Manager of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Audree Miller, Pollution Prevention Program Coordinator of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Lisa London, Director of Programs at the University of Texas at Arlington, Lynn Turner, Environmental Health Specialist at the Zero Waste Network, and Thomas Vinson-Peng, Director of the Zero Waste Network. Several other key national players in the environmental and pollution prevention field will also be speaking at this great event. To find out more information about the event, visit: http://www.environmentalsummit.org/index.cfm.
Representatives from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable made their way to Korea for a second time in March. Working with the South Korean federal government and several local industries, NPPR is promoting Pollution Prevention methods and building a strong Pollution Prevention base in Korea.
Four NPPR representatives made the trip including Thomas Vinson-Peng, director of the Zero Waste Network, who was making his second trip around, Ken Grimm, of the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Recourse Center (PPRC), Scott Butner, director of ChemAlliance, and Tony Cooper, of the Washington Department of Ecology. The quartet worked closely with local agents to prepare and present a Pollution Prevention Training Workshop. Lean manufacturing was one of the most popular topics in the training. Site visits were also made, and several companies who were visited last October by the joint US/Korean team had visible improvements.
International efforts will continue as Pollution Prevention methods and Zero Waste movements continue to spread their global appeal and as more countries learn about how waste reduction is a win-win solution providing savings and environmental benefits. NPPR plans to continue its international efforts. If you wish for more information, contact the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable at (202) 299-9701 or staff@p2.org.
Companies in Region 6 receive the Water Efficiency Leader Awards (WEL Awards)
Last December, EPA announced six winners of the 2007 Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) Awards for efforts in reducing, reusing, and recycling water. Three of these six 2007 winners were centered in Region 6.
The EPA recognized the national need for efficient use of water resources and has created initiatives such as the WaterSense program. The WEL Awards were also created by the EPA to help foster this nationwide ethic of water efficiency. A panel of national water experts chose the winners of the WEL Awards. Their decisions were based on the group’s leadership, innovation, and water saved. The winners and their highlighted water conservation efforts are as follows:
Intel Corporation, Ocotillo Campus (Chandler, Arizona) – Corporate – This company recycled 75 percent of the water used during manufacturing, took back 825 million gallons of treated wastewater from the city’s wastewater plant, internally re-used 530 million gallons of water, and treated and returned 575 million gallons of water to the local underground aquifer.
Frito-Lay (Plano, Texas) – Industry – Their nationwide effort resulted in a 39 percent decrease in water consumption per pound of product since 1999.
Lackland Air Force Base (Lackland, Texas) – Military – This base used a comprehensive approach to tackle water conservation. Efforts included bathroom fixture retrofits, water efficient landscaping, and water efficient heating and cooling systems. In addition, they used recycled wastewater for irrigation, watering, and cooling. Other aspects of Lackland’s approach consisted of employee outreach, school curriculum, and tenant education.
Santa Clara Valley Water District (San Jose, California) – Government – This agency helped reduce community water demand by 55,000 acre-feet through it’s conservation and water recycling, and they have plans to further reduce demand.
Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center (KPPC) at the University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky) – Nongovernmental Organization – This center also works to find profitable pollution prevention solutions to reduce the need for end-of-pipe treatment. They helped one metal finishing company profit financially while having a 30 percent net water saving.
Allan Dietemann, Seattle Public Utilities (Seattle, Washington) – Individual – Mr. Dietemann has promoted water conservation for 20 years. He is most well noted for the 1% Program in Seattle, a ten year effort to reduce water consumption by businesses, government, and homeowners. He also has a central role in promoting water efficiency to consumers by product labeling and appliance efficiency standards.
By Michelle Vattano, Pollution Prevention Coordinator, NMED
Typically when we think about dry cleaning, we think about the chemical smell when we first walk in the door, the chemical smell on our clothes after they’ve been dry-cleaned. I personally gave up dry-cleaning my clothes three years ago because I couldn’t’ stand the smell anymore. The chemical is perchloroethylene (PERC). This hazardous solvent can contaminate ground water, contribute to smog, and is a suspected carcinogen at sufficient high levels. While giving your clothes that dry-cleaner scent, PERC typically gives drycleaner staff headaches, skin irritations and other various health issues.. That seems so be changing nationwide. More and more dry cleaners are abandoning PERC and turning to more Earth-friendly cleansers. The nationwide demand for PERC, as it is known, has declined 82 percent from 1985 to 2002, according to the Textile Care Allied Trades Association; in Southern California, it has been banned altogether.
The New Mexico Environment Department’s Green Zia Environmental Excellence Program is a voluntary recognition program designed to recognize businesses that are reducing their environmental impacts and footprints. Last month One Hour GreenEarth Martinizing received the Commitment Level recognition for its’ environmental stewardship and overall process improvement. One Hour GreenEarth has been in business in Santa Fe and Albuquerque for 40 years, and Bruce Squires, owner and manager has taken a turn for an alternative method called silicon-based cleaning. This is a new technology that is just being introduced in some cleaning chain stores. This is a clear, odorless, non-toxic silicone-based solvent (known as a siloxane) rather than PERC. Accidental silicone solution spills decompose into sand, water and carbon dioxide and do not release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are deleterious to the ozone layer. The silicone cleaning solution does not require regulation under any of the hazardous waste laws and it does not present the health risks that PERC and other petroleum-based cleaning solvents pose. People with chemical sensitivities to dry cleaning are reported to be able to use the silicon-based Green Earth Cleaning system without problems. Hats off to One Hour GreenEarth Martinizing for their efforts to reduce their environmental impacts.
Other companies that received recognition are Hall Environmental Analysis Lab, Inc, of Albuquerque, New Mexico and Bandelier Trading Company and White Sands Trading Company.
To recognize your business or receive additional information on the New Mexico Environment Department Pollution Prevention Program contact Michelle Vattano at (505) 827-0677 or click on http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/P2_Web/.
Four NPPR representatives made the trip including Thomas Vinson-Peng, director of the Zero Waste Network, who was making his second trip around, Ken Grimm, of the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Recourse Center (PPRC), Scott Butner, director of ChemAlliance, and Tony Cooper, of the Washington Department of Ecology. The quartet worked closely with local agents to prepare 
International efforts will continue as Pollution Prevention methods and Zero Waste movements continue to spread their global appeal and as more countries learn about how waste reduction is a win-win solution providing savings and environmental benefits. NPPR plans to continue its international efforts. If you wish for more information, contact the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable at (202) 299-9701 or 
