Pollution
Prevention Success Stories
Control Electropolishin
(CE), a 40 year-old metal
finishing company with 17 employees in Brooklyn, NY, recently completed
an Environmental Investment Program (EIP) sponsored study that proved
the viability of substituting more environmentally-friendly chemicals
for the strong acids it was using in its daily operations. The investigation
showed that by converting the business' entire operation to new products,
CE would substantially reduce its use of toxic acids and their related
emissions, and achieves savings for the company and its clients.
CE specializes in electropolishing
and passivation of more than 1,000 different metal parts for 150 customers
in the pharmaceutical, medical, and dental industries. In electropolishing,
stainless steel parts are immersed into a chemical solution between
electrified copper bars. The finished parts have a bright, mirror-like
finish, an improved resistance to corrosion and an improved capacity
for sterilization. In passivation, stainless steel parts are chemically
cleaned, nearly always using a nitric acid solution. In this operation,
no brightening occurs, but there is an improved resistance to corrosion.
The US metal finishing industry
is largely comprised of small shops like CE, which employ about 60%
of the industry's workers. In New York State, there are 150 metal finishing
shops that rely on processing systems that are significant sources of
pollution (phosphoric, sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids).
During this project, CE identified
and tested a proprietary solution for electropolishing that contained
reduced levels of phosphoric and sulfuric acids than its conventional
solution. The new solution produced a better quality finish in shorter
immersion times using less electrical power and fewer refills. It also
reduced the level of phosphoric acid and phosphates (which are not soluble
in water) in the company's discharge, and increased sulfuric acid and
sulfate salts (which are soluble in water). CE determined that converting
its electropolishing system to this solution would be financially and
environmentally beneficial.
Looking at its passivation
process, the company found that the immersion times in the citric acid-based
solution generally ran half as long as immersion times in its nitric
acid solution. Although the citric acid solution cost more per pound,
the company achieved an 81% to 85% savings on chemical costs because
the citric acid was used in lower concentrations than nitric acid, and
because of the shorter immersion times. Due to the latter, the citric-acid
based passivation solution retained its potency for a longer period
of time, incurred less evaporation, and required less refills. CE determined
that converting its passivation system to citric acid would be environmentally
and financially beneficial.
For more information on the
technologies tested, contact Nancy Zapata, President, Control Electropolishing
Inc., (718) 858-6643, or Linda
Jacobs, Empire State Development.
Pixel Physics, Rochester,
NY is a small, prototype-system development company specializing in
photonic instrumentation systems. Photonics combines optics with electronics
integration, such as lasers, fiber optics and detectors. Working in
conjunction with the Canandaigua Wine Company, the largest winery in
New York State, the company utilized EIP funding do develop a system
that greatly reduced the amount of wasted wine being discarded by Canandaigua
Wine.
The system is an in-line
fluid monitoring sensor system that instantly detects the transition
between different liquids in a transfer pipe, and alerts the operator
(or triggers an automated valve) to change the transfer and holdout
valve routing. For this project, Pixel determined process and operational
parameters, and tested a prototype sensor package under realistic plant
conditions. As a result, Canandaigua Wine decreased its product waste
by 70,000 gallons and realized savings of $116,500 per year.
Subsequently, Pixel licensed
the technology to Flowtonics, Inc. to manufacture and sell fluid process
sensors to the food processing and beverage industries. If you are interested
in learning more, please contact Rob Vlosky, Flowtonics, Inc., (585)
239-6025 or ESU's Jim Gilbert.
High Technology of Rochester
(HTR) is an affiliate of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (a
program of NIST, the US Commerce Department's National Institute of
Standards & Technology). As such, one of its missions is helping
small and mid-sized manufacturers identify and implement pollution prevention
and waste reduction opportunities.
In its recently completed
EIP Technical Assistance Project, funded by ESD using matching monies
provided by benefiting companies, HTR performed preliminary waste assessments
at 41 businesses. Subsequently, HTR convinced nine of those firms to
undertake more detailed, complete assessments and implement their recommendations.
The nine companies saved $712,000 on raw material and waste management
costs, and $512,000 in indirect savings. Manufacturing waste reduced
included 434 tons of fabric, plastic and organics. Plus, there is the
potential to save over $1.5 million more from continued prevention activities.
The results achieved exceeded initial expectations.
The forty-one companies targeted
were selected from HTR's client database and other sources. Site visits
to each facility included an assessment of management style, attitude
toward waste prevention, and financial status. The visits included preliminary
assessments of environmental opportunities. "Lean Manufacturing"
principles and training were discussed, and the importance of team building
and management involvement was stressed.
For the nine companies receiving
full assessments, once a contract was in place, HTR and company personnel
created a "Value Stream Map," a "Lean" tool that
traces the value-adding steps in a manufacturing process to identify
sources of waste and strategies to reduce it. Cross-functional teams
were set up at each facility to assure implementation of recommended
actions. The most successful projects were those with management support.
Similar strategies for achieving
environmental improvements and related economic returns are now being
employed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, NIST, and environmental
consultants. For more information contact Richard Krause at High Technology
of Rochester, (585) 327-7920 or ESU's Jim
Gilbert.
New Law
Requires Dentists to Collect & Recycle All Mercury & Amalgam
Waste
A New York State law went
into effect on March 15, 2003 that places certain requirements on Dentists.
The law bans the possession or use of mercury in their practice unless
the mercury is contained in appropriate pre-encapsulated capsules specifically
designed for mixing dental amalgam. The law also requires dentists to
collect, and send for recycling, any elemental mercury, dental amalgam
waste from filters, traps and extracted teeth and pre-capsulated mercury
capsule waste generated in their offices.
Dentists are required to
comply with the law now. However, The New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) is in the process of developing regulations that
will clarify these requirements and may require the installation of
equipment designed to collect amalgam waste from dental facilities for
recycling. DEC recently sent notification of the law to 17,000 dentists
licensed in New York State. For more information, visit the DEC dental
amalgam waste management web site which includes the text of New
York State's Dental Mercury Recycling Law; a manual which details environmentally
responsible mercury and amalgam waste management methods for dental
offices; and, a resource guide which lists mercury and amalgam recycling
vendors and collection equipment in New York State. DEC will update
its mercury and dental amalgam web site regularly to include news and
progress regarding the law's implementation and the development of regulations.
For more information, contact: Jim
Honan.
Latest
"Where Will the Garbage Go" Report Released
Assembly member William
Colton (D-Brooklyn), Chair of the Assembly Legislative Commission on
Solid Waste Management, has announced the release of the latest edition
of Where Will the Garbage Go? 2002, the Commission's annual summary
of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in the State. Colton noted
that recent changes in New York City's solid waste management program
have significantly changed the State's profile.
Colton said "Solid waste
management in New York City has undergone dramatic changes over the
past few years with out-of-state waste transport and disposal replacing
in-City municipal waste disposal, due to closure of the Fresh Kills
landfill." Colton also noted, "Furthermore, recent changes
in New York City's recycling program are having impacts that, although
not yet revealed in this Report, will be evident in future reports.
Many localities across this state and nation watch closely to see how
the City addresses difficult issues in pursuit of a more environmentally
sound and efficient solid waste management program." He added,
"Hopefully, the Big Apple will ultimately deliver a first-rate
example."
Findings of the Report include
a decrease of nearly a million tons of municipal waste disposed in landfills
in New York State during 2001. This was largely attributable to New
York City's conclusion of municipal waste disposal at the Fresh Kills
in March 2001. The landfilling decrease, however, was more than offset
by the significant increases in the amounts of materials recycled and
waste exported.
- Key findings of Where
Will the Garbage Go? 2002 include:
- The recycled portion
of MSW identified in 2001 was 7.4 million tons, representing 29.8%
of the total waste stream, an increase of 370,000 tons from 2000.
- Waste exports to
other states increased by 1.3 million tons to 7.1 million in 2001.
This was primarily attributable to the final diversion of waste
from New York City's Fresh Kills landfill, where 1.3 million tons
less of solid waste were disposed in the year 2001 than in 2000.
- Waste disposed at
the 28 operating MSW landfills in New York State during 2001 totaled
6.6 million tons, a decrease of 960,000 tons from the previous
year, which accounted for 26.7 percent of the total waste stream.
- Generation of MSW
in New York State was 24.8 million tons in 2001, which was 740,000
tons, or 3.1 percent, higher than the amount generated in 2000.
Copies of Where Will the
Garbage Go? 2002 are available free of charge on the NYS
Assembly Website. Click on "Committees, Commissions and Task
Forces," scroll to Commission listings and click on Solid Waste
Management "Updates" to link to this report or other Commission
publications.
NYS to Revise 6NYCRR Part
360 Solid Waste Management Regulations
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
is in the process of revising 6 New York Codes of Rules & Regulations
(NYCRR) Part 360 (Part 360), which contains the implementing regulations
for the New York's solid waste program. This rulemaking will include
technical amendments, clarifications, as well as legal and policy developments.
Since its last major revision in 1992, the DEC has had significant experience
in implementing Part 360. These regulations set standards for solid
waste planning, solid waste landfills, incinerators and various processing
facilities.
Changes to all portions of
Part 360 will be considered. A number of specific areas have already
been identified as requiring specific evaluation, including: Solid Waste
Management Planning, Landfill Siting, Landfill Quality Assurance/Quality
Control, Landfill Monitoring, and Construction and Demolition Debris
Processing/Recycling. The rulemaking is also expected to address solid
waste management activities or waste streams that are not currently
identified within Part 360, including automobile dismantlers, dredge
materials, biohazard incident waste, and flowable fill. Consideration
will also be given to reevaluating requirements that have proven to
be overly burdensome to the regulated community and have provided little
or no incremental benefit of environmental protection. The revision
will include re-formatting the existing structure of the regulations
into a Part 360 series which will include Parts 360-369. The information
contained in the current Part 360 will be subdivided into these Parts
to better organize solid waste topics, and make future revisions to
specific topics less burdensome. For more information on this rulemaking
please contact Melissa
Treers.
With
the new year, NERC launches a new Advisory Membership Program. As part
of this, we are delighted to acknowledge our first SUPPORTING MEMBERS: