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Welcome to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Pollution Prevention (P2) newsletter! Through this newsletter, we will provide information on upcoming events, as well as tools and resources to help implement and improve P2 initiatives. |
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Happy Earth Day!
The Pollution Prevention (P2) program wishes you a happy Earth Day on April 22nd. Follow us on @EPAChemSafety to learn more about pollution prevention success stories.
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Upcoming Webinars
Greening Your Bottom Line—Reduce Operating Costs in Food or Beverage Businesses
April 16, 2021, 1:00 – 2:00 PM EDT
Register Now
In this interactive webinar, UMass Lowell, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production will explore the following questions and challenges during this time of COVID-19.
- How can we more efficiently and effectively use cleaning and disinfecting products?
- How can we reduce our energy and water use and costs while maintaining food product safety?
- How can we generate less waste and/or better manage our waste?
- What are other businesses doing and what results have they seen?
- What resources are available to explore opportunities to improve business operations and processes?
Speaker:
- Madeline Snow, Project Manager, UMass Lowell, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production
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Sustainable Solutions for Craft Beverage Producers: Energy Treasure Hunt for Microbreweries
April 27, 2021, 1:00 – 2:00 PM EDT
Register Now
Join EPA’s ENERGY STAR®, and New Hampshire’s Pollution Prevention Program for a three-part webinar series on Sustainable Solutions for Craft Beverage Producers. This webinar will feature Energy Treasure Hunts for Microbreweries.
As the brewing industry continues to grow, focusing on efficiency can help keep energy use and costs low. Danny Macri and Emily Bolger from ENERGY STAR will provide an overview of the energy treasure hunt process and some insights into using the ENERGY STAR Treasure Map for Microbreweries which is a tool for brewers that uncovers opportunities to save. Scott Lawson, Director of Brewing Operations at Lawson’s Finest, will then demonstrate how Energy Treasure Hunts can be conducted in breweries including case studies from Vermont’s Harpoon location, Magic Hat, and Lawson’s Finest.
Speakers:
- Danny Macri, EPA, ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch Program Lead
- Emily Bolger, EPA Region 1, ENERGY STAR coordinator
- Scott Shirley, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Director of Brewing Operations
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P2 Grantee Spotlight
Community-Based Pollution Prevention in Action in Region 2
Between 2013 and 2015, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) partnered with community organizations to study how implementing pollution prevention practices could help alleviate the impacts of Hurricane Sandy and promote business resiliency in urban communities in Newark and Jersey City, NJ.
Since the passing of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) 30 years ago, local, state, and federal entities have encouraged the adoption of pollution prevention practices.
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This study examined the effect of a community-based approach designed to emphasize environmental justice and the benefits to the health and economic well-being of urban communities when businesses in that community implement source reduction practices. Partnering with existing community groups in Newark and Jersey City, NJ, NJIT provided technical assistance to small and medium-sized businesses under grant funding from EPA Region 2. NJIT evaluated 32 small and medium-sized businesses for source reduction opportunities and developed implementation plans as needed and where feasible. After these businesses implemented process improvements and modifications in the types of chemicals used, the NJIT team helped determine emission and cost savings for the 32 participating organizations.
Read the case study from NJIT to learn more about the P2 practices that were implemented and the pros and cons of adopting a community-based pollution prevention program.
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Rowan University Project Seeks to Reduce Waste Oil from Pipeline Cleaning in Lubricant Manufacturing
A recently awarded EPA R2 grant (2020) is receiving some major interest within trade journals such as Lubes’n’Greases and Interesting Engineering.
Researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University are working with Exxon Mobil at their Paulsboro, New Jersey blending plant for the next two years on reducing the amount of waste oil generated when the blending plant’s pipes are flushed as production switches from one product to the next. The flushing process employs cleaning materials that mix with the oil, rendering it unusable. The researchers will try to reduce the extent to which the flushed oil is downgraded, both by engineering the flushing process and by altering the chemistry of the cleaning materials. Dr. Kirti Yenkie, part of the Rowan University team, started researching flushing processes a year ago and says that she hopes that any advances could be employed in other plants as well as other types of facilities. Yenkie told Lubes n’ Greases that “we hope these solutions can be utilized in auto repair shops and oil-based paint industries that have historically used outmoded methods for cleaning and disposal.” If successful, she estimates that improvements could reduce the amount of waste oil generated by as much as 3 million pounds just in EPA’s Region 2, which encompasses New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico, and save businesses tens of millions of dollars in disposal costs.
Read the full articles to learn more:
Contacts: Dr. Kirti M. Yenkie, Rowan University and Walter Schoepf, EPA Region 2
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EPA Calls for Nominations for the 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards
EPA is now accepting nominations for the 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards. The awards will recognize the leadership contributions of Safer Choice partners and stakeholders who, over the past year, have shown achievement in the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals.
Submissions are due by May 31, 2021. Award winners will be recognized at a ceremony in the fall of 2021. More information on the 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards, the submission process, and past winners can be found on the Safer Choice website.
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P2 Grants National Emphasis Area: Auto Manufacturing & Maintenance Affinity Group
The U.S. EPA Pollution Prevention (P2) Program has designated the Automotive Manufacturing and Maintenance sector as one of five national emphasis areas (NEAs) for the FY 2020/2021 P2 grant application cycle.
The P2 grantees serving this sector across the U.S. help the automotive supply chain in meeting climate impact reduction goals by reducing energy use, water use, and waste generation, which often results in cost savings.
Launched in December 2020, EPA’s Automotive Manufacturing and Maintenance Affinity Group is intended to create a space where P2 grantees can catalyze increased sustainability in the auto manufacturing and maintenance sector by developing partnerships with the private sector. These critical partnerships serve to advance P2 approaches by amplifying P2 best practices, accessing and sharing resources and lessons learned, and hearing from experts on specific topics of interest.
Technical assistance services that EPA’s automotive grantees provide to stakeholders include:
- On-site assessments
- Energy audits
- Training/workshops
- Industry roundtables
- Conferences
- Recognition awards
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- Remote technical assistance
- Web-based tools
- Webinars/videos
- Source reduction plans
- Guidance documents
- Intern placement
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P2 automotive grantees are located across 22 states and will partner with the automotive manufacturing and repair sector using a combination of the above services. If your automotive organization is interested in receiving P2 technical assistance, please contact co-chairs, Holly Elwood or Pam Swingle.
See the types of P2 actions and strategies taken by some leaders in the automotive industry:
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Employee Spotlight: Natalie Hummel, OPPT, Pollution Prevention (P2) Program
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Natalie began her career at the EPA in 2004, as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). She started in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics in the Environmental Assistance Division (EAD), where she contributed to the agency’s Report on the Environment and helped develop the Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART). She also worked on strategic planning, budgeting, program planning, performance measurement, and responses to audits by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the EPA’s Inspector General.
Before coming to EPA, Natalie served as a PMF at the National Park Service, analyzing coastal water data, developing websites, preparing briefing materials, leading meetings with park managers, and supporting other communication efforts within the division.
Her next rotation was with the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, where she worked on urban stormwater issues. Her focus was on reducing nutrient and sediment load from new developments, developing an award program for Low Impact Development projects, conducting on-site interviews with state stormwater representatives, and preparing case studies and issue papers for various state and federal stakeholders.
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Currently, Natalie works in EPA’s Pollution Prevention (P2) Program, as an Environmental Protection Specialist where she works on improving marketing and outreach materials for P2 grantees, developing P2 webinars, and assisting with content development for the P2 newsletter. She also serves as the co-lead for the P2 Intern Affinity Group. In addition, she serves on the committee for several EPA organizational and employee development efforts.
Natalie has also has also assisted in the development of several tool for P2 grantees including a database to track, report, and analyze performance results from P2 grants and P2 calculators to measure greenhouse gasses, water savings, hazardous air reductions as well as cost savings. She also served as a lead for the Energy, Environment, and Economy (E3) program for NY, PA, VA, WA, and OH, where she worked with manufacturers on reducing environmental impacts while saving resources, and served as the federal representative on the standards development group for IEEE 1680.1 (sustainability standard for computers).
Natalie shares her life with her beautiful daughter Allie and their rescue shih tzu named Ace. Her interests are nature walking, blogging, providing Lyme support/awareness, music, art, and books, studying Kabbalah, and making the universe a better place for all of us.
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The P2 Hub Helpline Is at Your Service!
The P2 Hub Helpline offers information and resources about pollution prevention. Please contact the Helpline at p2hub@epa.gov or (202) 566-0799.
Stay Connected!
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