Fact Sheet: Waste Minimization in the Workplace

Virginia Waste Minimization Program
Vol. 1 Issue 16

A Fact Sheet from the Virginia Waste Minimization Program on waste minimization in the workplace.

Waste Minimization in the Workplace

Manufacturing processes produce hazardous waste. there is no getting around it. However, responsible companies in Virginia and around the country are working toward reducing the amount of hazardous waste they generate. By using the most up-to-date technology as well as "common sense" strategies to reduce waste in the workplace, these companies are able to:

• Protect human health and the environment
  
• Comply with state and federal regulations
  
• Take the lead in corporate waste minimization programs
  
• Avoid the cost and. liability of handling and storing hazardous wastes.

Mate: Receiving

• Inspect shipments for open, damaged, or leaking containers.
  
• Check expiration dates.
  
• Test for off-specification materials.
  
• Accept only properly labeled containers.

Raw Material and Product Storage

• Keep storage areas well lighted and clean.
  
• Make sure that electrical circuitry is properly insulated.
  
• Check for corrosion and sparking.
  
• Keep metal drums raised off of the floor to prevent sweating.
  
• Space containers to allow for inspection.
  
• Segregate chemicals to prevent chemical reactions.
  
• Keep aisles clear of obstruction.
  
• Stack containers no higher than recommended by manufacturer.
  
• Don't store equipment against containers.

Container Management and Disposal

• Return empty containers to the supplier.
  
• Accept empty containers from your customers.
  
• Remember - Containers that are wider than tall have less azardous cling. so changes in size and shape of the container may reduce waste generation.

Material Tracking and Inventory Control

• Effectively track the shelf life of time-sensitive materials.
  
• Maintain proper storage conditions.
  
• Label all containers with product name, weight, lot number and appropriate DOT hazard symbols and any other information that assists in tracking material location. quality, age or use.
  
• Buy only what you are going to use.
  
• Use materials before their expiration date.
  
• Identify non-hazardous substitutes.
  
• Look for substitute materials with longer shelf lives.
  
• Work with vendors to allow acceptance of unopened or expired raw materials.
  
• Use waste exchanges for off-specification materials.
  
• Inventory and trace all raw materials.
  
• Purchase fewer toxic and more non-toxic production materials.
  
• Implement employee training and management feedback.
  
• Improve material receiving, storage, and handling practices.

Equipment Operation and Production Scheduling

• Check for empty containers; spill residues; and leaking tanks, chemical reactors. pipes, valves and hoses.
  
• Properly maintain and operate process equipment to prevent the production of off-specification products, excess or spent process materials and solutions, unused additives, and catalysts.
  
• Check pipes for leaks at seams, pump seals, and flange gaskets.
  
• Install overflow and rupture disks and relief valves.
  
• Use all welded piping construction, flange guards, double seals and bellows-sealed valves.
  
• Test containers periodically.
  
• Use secondary containment.
  
• Install equipment that produces minimal or no waste.
  
• Modify equipment to enhance recovery or recycling options.
  
• Redesign equipment or production lines to produce less waste.
  
• mprove operating efficiency of equipment.
  
• Maintain strict preventive maintenance program.

Chemical Processes

Optimize chemical reactions by:

• Keeping the temperature of the product at the proper level.
  
• Check temperature control devices routinely.
  
• Checking mechanical agitators to ensure that proper operation and mixing occur.
  
• Adjusting feed flow and purity controls.

Metal Parts Cleaning Plating and Surface Treating

• Reduce the use of solvent and water in cleaning.
  
• Replace solvent-based cleaners with aqueous cleaning solutions--this action will also result in a reduction in air emissions.
  
• Use greaseless or water-based binders to eliminate the need to remove binders with caustic cleaners.
  
• Remove dragout by placing all parts in racks and place all cavities face down to allow for rapid drainage.
  
• Allow enough time for parts to drain completely.
  
• Install dragout collection tanks or angled trays to return solution drained from the product.
  
• Avoid excessive rinsing.
  
• Use fog rinsing to reduce rinsewater use.
  
• Use countercurrent rinsing to recycle dilute solution.
  
• Prevent spillage by adding sideboards or splash guards.
  
• Prevent loss of volatile solutions and solvents by locating storage tanks away from sources of heat and by adding lids or chillers.

Stripping and Painting

• Replace solvents with abrasive media stripping. preferably stripping that is recyclable, such as plastic beads: or use a water-based cleaning solution.
  
• Use water-based paints.
  
• Institute a strong operator training program.
  
• Implement a strong product quality control program.
  
• Avoid overspray by holding the gun level, setting controls appropriately, and maintaining proper gun distance and speed.
  
• Replace high air pressure guns with low pressure guns or an electrostatic system. Dip tanks are also a third alternative in some cases.
  
• Isolate spray booths for solvent-based paints from those for water base paints to prevent mixing.
  
• Emphasize quality control and pre-inspection to lower the rejection rate resulting from inadequate pre-cleaning.
  
• Evaluate the scheduling of batches to maximize efficiency.
  
• Avoid scheduling consecutive batches of products that react with one another.
  
• If possible, dedicate production lines to the manufacture of a single substance.
  
• Consider scheduling batch processes to make a full year's run at one time.
  
• Schedule batches of similarly coated products consecutively.
  
• Schedule dark batches after light batches.

Production Process Changes

• Substitute non-hazardous for hazardous raw materials.
  
• Segregate wastes by type for recovery.
  
• Eliminate sources of leaks and spills.
  
• Separate hazardous from non-hazardous wastes.
  
• Redesign or reformulate end products to be less hazardous.
  
• Optimize reactions and raw materials use.

Recycling and Reuse

• Install closed-loop systems.
  
• Recycle on-site for reuse.
  
• Recycle off-site for reuse.
  
• Exchange wastes.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Equipment Clean

• Schedule regular cleaning and maintenance to avoid product contamination, remove deposits, maintain process efficiency.
  
• extend equipment life, and allow for inspection and repair.
  
• Install corrosion-resistant pipes and vats to reduce the need for frequent cleaning.
  
• Schedule jobs in batches to reduce the need for frequent cleanings.
  
• Install high-pressure spray nozzles for tank rinsing.
  
• Allow time for proper drainage prior to cleaning.

Preventive and Corrective Maintenance

• Visually inspect all process and storage tanks, including all equipment attached to them, at least once a month.
  
• Monitor and test all discharges from internal heating and cooling coils quarterly.
  
• Regularly calibrate and adjust all automatic process control devices to increase productivity and prevent loss.

Waste Collection and Management Practices

• ALWAYS label hazardous waste at its source while it can still be easily identified.
  
• Prevent hazardous waste from contaminating non-hazardous materials by keeping them from coming into contact with each other.
  
• Isolate waste streams by toxicity, type of contaminant, or physical form. By segregating waste this way, you may save substantially in disposal, handling and/or transport costs. Waste segregation also allows for easier material recovery and recycling.
  
• Set up manned collection centers to prevent unauthorized mixing of wastes.
  
• In paint operations, segregate paint and solvent waste from other trash.
  
• In printing operations, segregate cleanup toluene according to color and type of ink cleaned, and then filter and reuse the collected wastes to thin future batches of the same ink.
  
• In metal-working operations, filter aluminum particles from soluble oils so you can reclaim the aluminum and reuse the oil.

(This article was excerpted from materials prepared by Coastal Video Communications, 3083 Brickhouse Court, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.)

This Waste Reduction Fact Sheet Is provided as a service of the Virginia Waste Minimization Program, a technical assistance program of the Virginia Department of Waste Management.

For more information on opportunities to reduce waste contact:

Virginia Waste Minimization Program
11th Floor Monroe Building. 101 North 14th Street
Richmond. Virginia 23219
804-371-8716 or 1-800-552-2075
TDD 804-371-8737