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Session 2633

Waste Minimization Opportunities for Industrial Manufacturers Scott Dunning, Peter Martin / Byron Winn University of Maine / Colorado State University

Abstract

What changes can manufacturers make to reduce waste streams and save money? A recent modification to a successful Department of Energy energy audit program has included a focus on waste minimization for small and medium-sized manufacturers. The program change was incorporated over two years ago and approximately 2000 assessments have been completed nationwide since the change.

This paper will examine the results of the combined energy/waste assessments. It will focus on the typical waste recommendations made for three sectors of Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) 20- 39. Recommendations vary from typical conservation measures such as recycling pallets and cardboard to direct process modifications that reduce water or chemical usage. While some recommendations are general and can be applied to any industry, others are industry-specific.

1. Introduction

The Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Center program (EADC)was established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 1978 to assist small and medium sized manufacturers in improving energy efficiency while training engineering students in energy efficiency principles. This was accomplished by establishing EADC’s at thirty universities around the United States. The EADC’s were tasked with completing energy audits for thirty manufacturers within a 150 mile radius of their campus.

In 1993, DOE restructured the program and began converting EADC’s to Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC). This change introduced waste stream analysis into the program. The new IACs were trained in waste management analysis to augment their knowledge in energy efficiency. Client assessments were then improved by combining energy efficiency recommendations with waste management opportunities.

One of the strengths of the IAC program is the detailed records maintained by the Department of Energy. Information from all assessments is electronically uploaded to a national database which is maintained by Rutgers University. 1 This database is available to the general public and allows for statistical analysis of various aspects of the program. The data used in this paper comes directly from that database. The program has also generated excellent training materials which can be quite helpful to manufacturers. 2,3

At the time of this writing, the database held the results of 1,926 combined assessments. These assessments included 13,712 recommendations yielding an average of seven recommendations per report. While these assessments were completed for manufacturers in SIC code 20-39, not all manufacturing areas received an equal amount of assessments. Table 1 lists the industry descriptions for each SIC code. Figure 1 illustrates the number of reports completed in each industrial class.

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Winn, B., & Martin, P., & Dunning, S. C. (1997, June), Waste Minimization Opportunities For Industrial Manufacturers Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6896