TRI Pollution Prevention Glossary

The Waste Management Hierarchy

The waste management hierarchy established by the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) guides waste generators toward the best options for managing wastes. The preferred option is to prevent pollution at its source, but for waste that is generated, the preferred management methods are recycling, followed by burning for energy recovery, treatment and, as a last resort, disposing of the waste. Source Reduction includes activities that eliminate or reduce the generation of chemical waste. Recycling includes the recovery of a toxic chemical in waste for reuse. Energy Recovery includes the combustion of toxic chemicals in waste to generate heat or electricity. Treatment includes the destruction of a toxic chemical in waste. Disposal or Other Releases includes toxic chemical quantities entering the environment.

• A breakdown of production-related waste managed. This includes all amounts of the chemical released directly to the environment or otherwise managed as waste, other than waste generated by one-time events not associated with normal production processes (e.g., fires or remedial actions).
• A production ratio or activity index to provide context for reported toxic chemical quantities. For example, if a chemical is used in the manufacture of refrigerators, the production index would track the number of refrigerators produced and could be used to help gauge how much of the chemical is being released per unit of production.
• Any newly implemented source reduction activities, reported using "W-codes" (e.g., "W41: Increased purity of raw materials")