Waste Reduction: From Traditional Management to Sustainable Materials

Every industry creates specific types of waste, comes under specific types of waste regulations, and faces specific problems in preventing and disposing of waste. The US spends over a trillion dollars a year in waste reduction and management. Instead of using the term “waste management,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suggested “sustainable materials management,” which consists of:

Designing products to use fewer materials more efficiently
Reducing toxic and environmental impacts throughout the product lifecycle
Ensuring enough resources for future use.

The key difference between waste management and sustainable materials management (SMM) is the perspective: SMM looks at the entire lifecycle of materials, from extraction through use to end-of-life; waste management focuses on disposal. As a result, SMM embraces strategies that attempt to reduce the amount of materials that go into production and extend the life of materials rather than merely disposing and treating the waste.

While both waste management and SMM use similar techniques, SSM aims for the longer term. The main strategies are process optimization, recycling and reuse, and waste minimization.

Process Optimization

Implementing more efficient production processes reduces waste generation from the outset. Product, design, and program excellence contribute to designs that use fewer and more sustainable raw materials and are also easier to disassemble and recycle.

Design for excellence (DfX) reduces the likelihood of manufacturing errors that lead to waste. Product excellence aims for products that are easier to maintain and repair so that they have longer, more manageable life-cycles.

Program excellence encompasses maintenance and inventory management. Maintenance management also lengthens the life-cycle of both products and the equipment that manufactures products. Inventory management reduces the likelihood of accumulating excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory that needs disposal.

Recycling and Reuse

Recycling has had the steadiest growth of all methods of waste management. The EPA estimates that more than 30% of waste is recycled but that up to 75% has the potential to be recycled.

Developing recycling programs and strategies for recovering valuable materials from waste streams can significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. Materials like metals, plastics, and certain chemicals can often be recycled and reused in the production process, reducing the need for virgin resources.

Waste Minimization Techniques

Waste minimization involves using less hazardous materials and optimizing the potential toxic reactions between materials. In addition to recycling, the waste minimization techniques are source reduction and treatment.

Source reduction involves substituting non-hazardous, sustainable materials for hazardous, non-sustainable materials. The use of computer modeling techniques can also reveal opportunities to minimize the use of hazardous materials.

Treatment technologies include incineration, chemical treatment, and biological processes. However, it's important to ensure that these technologies are environmentally sound and compliant with regulations.