Small Business Assistance - Permit Primer

Topic - Hazardous Waste

Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization - Small Quantity Generators

As a small quantity generator, the best way to manage your waste is not to produce it in the first place. There are a wide range of source reduction options from no-cost changes that you can make (e.g., checking for leaks, tightening valves) to modifications that will pay for themselves in a few years (e.g., process modifications).

Sources of Assistance

Both the DNR and the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC) (Exit DNR) have information to help you conduct a facility audit to target source reduction opportunities and to assess the economic benefits of a particular project. Performing a facility audit does not require hiring a consultant, in fact, many companies have found that their employees are their most valuable source of information.

Source Reduction

Source reduction is the reduction or elimination of waste at the source, usually within a process. Source reduction measures include process modification, feedstock substitutions, improvements in feedstock purity, housekeeping and management practices, increases in the efficiency of machinery, and recycling within a process. Source reduction implies any action that reduces the amount of waste exiting a process.

Waste Minimization

Waste minimization means the reduction, to the extent feasible, of hazardous waste that is generated and subsequently treated, stored, or disposed of. It includes any source reduction or recycling activity undertaken by a generator that results in:

1. the reduction of total volume or quantity of hazardous waste;
2. the reduction of toxicity of hazardous waste; or
3. both, as long as the reduction is consistent with the goal of minimizing present and future threats to human health and the environment.

Links

Business Material Exchange of Wisconsin (Exit DNR)

Solvent Alternatives Guide (Exit DNR)

Waste and Cost Reduction Techniques for Small Parts Cleaners (Exit DNR)