Green Chemistry holds the promise to create healthier and less wasteful products, processes, and working environments. But what if the labs in which chemicals are used and created are themselves unhealthy and wasteful? Laboratories serve as logical places to start implementing greener practices.

PPRC is partnering with the Green Lab Alliance and others to promote best practices and resources for improving the sustainability of lab environments.

Resources

Play Webinar

Resources and info Page: PPRC has compiled an extensive Resources and Information Page on Green Laboratory Practices. Check out this growing resource to get more info on green lab practices, problems, debates, solutions, contacts, and sources.

Webinars: Check out our recent joint webinar presentation with the Green Lab Alliance: “Green Chemistry and Sustainable Laboratory Practices.” This webinar is a good place to learn green and sustainable laboratory basics, and establish a framework for next steps.

Topic Hubs: PPRC has compiled information on green practices at Biotech research facilities. Read our Biotech Topic Hub to learn more.

Rapid Response Service: As always, if you have a specific question or problem related to sustainable laboratory processes, we encourage you to tap our Rapid Response Service. This free service exists to provide quick and well-researched answers to any questions you might have about pollution prevention.

What is PPRC’s Rapid Response Service?

Rapid Response is PPRC’s Free “Ask Us Anything” service. We are here to provide quick but well-researched answers to any questions about pollution prevention. We handle questions regarding product purchasing, toxic alternatives, waste management systems, energy efficiency, and any other pollution problem you can think of. We at PPRC are proud to offer a staff of seasoned problem solvers with diverse expertise in manufacturing processes, chemical engineering, energy efficiency, and many other fields. If we can’t answer your question, we will point you to the leads, contacts, and resources that can. Our Rapid Response service may include consultation with engineers, a host of listserv resources, technical experts, and on-line or library searches.

We prioritize questions from small businesses or agencies, but we seek to help everyone that our resources allow. So if you are a small business, sustainability manager, technical assistance provider, or even government agency, please “ask us anything” about a pollution prevention problem. Our “Rapid Response” team is here to serve you.

Please e-mail any Rapid Response questions HERE.

What Rapid Response Problems Has PPRC Solved in the Past?

Over the years, PPRC has answered a broad and impressive range of Rapid Response questions. These include: What are the benefits and alternatives to oxo-degradable bags? Is BPS a safe alternative to BPA?; What are the most important factors of a healthy school environment?; and what are costs for furniture makers of not using PBDE flame-retardents?

Take a look at our  Past Rapid Response Reports to access our research on, and solutions to, vexing and relevant environmental questions.

Photo by David Herrera

PPRC’s “Greening Sports” project is designed to compliment efforts by the Green Sports Alliance, U.S. EPA, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and others to assist sports teams, venues, and leagues to reduce their environmental footprint and improve their economic performance. PPRC provides technical assistance and resources to assist these efforts.

Greening Sports Directory

Explore the first-ever concise and comprehensive Directory of local, regional, and national contacts to help sports facility managers “green” their operations.

Greening Sports Rapid Response Service

PPRC is pleased to expand our Rapid Response service to cover questions relating to any environmental challenges experienced at your sports facilities, as you work to develop greener
policies/procedures/activities, operations, etc. We will provide free research into related questions to support your efforts.

Sports and Sustainability Forum: A White House discussion with the Sports Industry (July 19, 2012)

The Obama Administration brought together sports league and team leaders, stadium operators and supply chain companies to celebrate success stories in making our sports facilities more energy efficient and raising the profile of the importance of going green. Watch the three-part video series:

• Greening our Stadiums and Ballparks (Part One)
• Greening our Stadiums and Ballparks (Part Two)
• Greening our Stadiums and Ballparks (Part Three)

Funding for this project provided by USEPA         

The Motivation

Industries and manufacturers commonly produce wastes that other businesses could use. A lack of inter-business communication prevents efficient use of resources. The ResourceFull Use program was started to help turn one business’ trash into another’s treasure.

What is ResourceFull Use?

ResourceFull Use provides manufacturers and industry with workshops and a website-based mechanism to assess resource needs and actively exchange resources (e.g., use the waste of one organization as an input for another). The result is the creation of a sustainable eco-industrial community.

Benefits are improved economic viability through reduced waste, improved resource efficiencies and cost savings, and a reduced environmental footprint achieved through decreased emissions (CO2 and other greenhouse gases) and pollution.

2013 Workshops

**All workshops 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted**
Please RSVP to Debra Taevs

**View the Materials Available and Needed**

Send any material postings, preferably with photos, to debtaevs@gmail.com.

Workshops include:

About the Project

The ResourceFull Use program is different from traditional passive web-based exchanges (such as IMEX in Kent, Washington) in these important ways:

The ResourceFull Use Project started in 2006 as the result of collaboration between Zero Waste Alliance, a Portland-based nonprofit organization and Columbia Corridor Association.   The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) joined as a co-facilitator of the program in 2008. In its first phase the ResourceFull Use program achieved these initial successes:

The program has benefited from advisory, funding, and in-kind support from a wide cross-section of organizations including Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center, The Boeing Foundation, Cadmus Group (formerly Quantec, LLC), Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Portland Development Commission (PDC), City of Portland’s Recycle at Work Program, Portland General Electric (PGE), City of Gresham, Portland Water Bureau, Columbia Corridor Association (CCA), Zero Waste Alliance (ZWA), Portland Metro, and Portland Office of Sustainable Development.

Participants

The program is designed to benefit the manufacturing and industrial sector in the greater Portland, Oregon metro area.  This program fills the needs of under-served manufacturing and industrial sectors.  There are few programs focused on this group.

Results and Expected Outcomes

The project will help to create a sustainable eco-industrial community with existing local industries.  The goal is to achieve exchanges through the workshop series.   Other outcomes include education and awareness around the collaborative zero waste efforts, increased understanding of possible exchanges as well as barriers to exchanges. Measurements will include:

 Presentations and Articles

Contact

For more information about the project, please call or email:

Thank you to our project funder

ResourceFULL Use does not support indirect costs

Thank you to our workshop host

The Motivation

By-Product Synergy NW (BPS NW) is a Northwest public-private partnership aimed at reducing waste going to landfill while taking a closed-loop approach to materials and resources on a regional basis.

Since 2007, BPS NW has engaged a core group of companies, including heavy industries like Shell Oil and Nucor Steel, and Northwest-based manufacturers such as Genie Industries and Canyon Creek Cabinet Company. Member companies work in facilitated sessions to identify opportunities for reusing waste materials or optimizing the use of input materials. Technical experts and regulatory representatives support the program and help participants develop innovative approaches to save money and reduce waste.

By-Product Synergy NW is managed by NBIS (Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability) in collaboration with PPRC, Washington State Department of Ecology, the US Business Council for Sustainable Development, and other partners.

Resources

Materials Innovation Exchange Online Toolbox (MAIX)

During 2011, development began on a first-class resource for materials exchange and access to best practices in materials management, case examples, and success stories. The unique Materials Innovation Exchange website is in beta right now.

Contribute to beta launch of materials innovation exchange website; gain early benefits by posting innovative articles, resources & materials for exchange. By-product Synergy Northwest (BPSNW), an NBIS program affiliated with the US Business Council for Sustainability Development, is in the final “pre-launch” phase of introducing the Materials Innovation Exchange website, which will include a public facing marketplace for materials exchange (alongside a members only space) plus an innovation center offering articles and helps for dealing with challenging materials.

The site is both a materials marketplace and a global knowledge bank supporting innovation in materials management and waste reduction. Seed funding was provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology and Rhizome Design. Rhizome is an NBIS member company, contributing web development and design expertise to the project.

Contacts

For more information on these projects, please contact:

Mary Rose, Co-Executive Director, NBIS

PPRC’s Promise – Environmental Performance

Today, both promises can be kept.

The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) is committed to promoting improved environmental operations via lean manufacturing activities. Our goal is to be a networking and referral hub for lean and environment, serving the lean community in the Northwest.

Simultaneously combining lean and environmental efforts has boosted lean results for many U.S. companies, including three Washington manufacturers. Here are just a few of results from the lean and environment pilot projects completed in Washington State:

• Avoided filing for a Title V air permit by reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) releases;
• Reduced energy costs by $99,000 annually;
• Reduced hazardous waste by over 60,000 pounds annually;
• Reduced fiberglass overspray by about 60% (for one product line);
• Reduced solid waste by over 500,000 pounds annually;
• Eliminated one source of wastewater generation, for an annual savings of $17,000;
• Increased staff environmental awareness so this knowledge and experience can be applied during future improvement efforts.

PPRC will provide free assistance to lean professionals to identify environmental opportunities that are synergistic and complementary to lean, and can further increase bottom line savings.

What is Lean and Green?

Lean production and lean manufacturing refer to the use of systematic methods to reduce costs by eliminating wastes and non-value added activities, while delivering what the customer wants, on time. Lean manufacturing was originally developed by the Toyota Motor Company in Japan based on concepts pioneered by Henry Ford, and is now being applied beyond mass production, into service-oriented businesses, agencies, and offices.

Even without explicitly targeting environmental outcomes, lean efforts can yield substantial environmental benefits. However, since environmental wastes and pollution are not the primary focal points, these gains may not be maximized in the normal scheme of lean.

The two strategies can be integrated and offered simultaneously. The approaches have similarities, in that they strive to eliminate non-value-added components, assess baseline conditions and operations, capture the details of process inputs and outputs, and strategize to design, and incorporate changes that will reduce environmental or productivity inefficiencies.

How has Lean and Green Been Applied?

The U.S. EPA, Washington Department of Ecology, NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership programs in several states, and the Green Suppliers Network have recently begun integrating environment into lean projects and are achieving great improvements in productivity and environmental performance. These projects have incorporated the analysis of waste, pollution, and toxicity, while increasing environmental awareness during traditional lean training, value stream mapping, and kaizen events. See case studies.

How PPRC’s Lean and Green Service Works

This service is for lean professionals in the Northwest. If you are working on lean projects and feel that your business or industry could benefit from adding green to your lean efforts, email us at leangreen@pprc.org.

Below are the typical steps throughout the lean and green assistance process, however, each project varies to suit the needs of the client:

EPA’s E3 Program

The E3 (Economy, Energy, and Environment) Initiative is a coordinated federal and local technical assistance initiative to help manufacturers adapt and thrive in a new business era focused on sustainability. The program focuses on lean, clean, energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Read more about the E3 Initiative and learn about E3 in the Pacific Northwest.

Other Lean and Environment Resources

View a collection of projects, case studies, tools and other resources as well as organizations involved in Lean and the Environment.

The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) is currently providing Spray Technique Analysis and Research (STAR®) and NESHAP training to painters and paint instructors.  The STAR® program was developed by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) at the University of Northern Iowa and is dedicated to improving the overall efficiency of manual spray coating operations by enhancing the techniques of spray technicians. STAR® addresses:

• The importance of gun adjustments to achieve proper air and fluid pressure
• The importance of good equipment maintenance
• Calibration and use of the LaserTouch™ technology
• Proper spray gun distance and orientation
• Spray overlap and edge painting techniques to achieve maximum efficiency

Take Advantage of This Opportunity!

Ken Grimm, PPRC’s Industry Outreach Lead, has completed the IWRC’s Train-the-Trainer course in addition to his nearly 20 years of industrial and automotive paint experience. Ken has provided train-the-trainer courses to more than two dozen Community and Technical Colleges in the Pacific Northwest, as well as training to more than 100 collision repair shops and industrial facilities.

To inquire about training dates and costs, please contact the project manager, Ken Grimm, at (206) 352-2050 or kgrimm@pprc.org

New Requirements

On January 9th of 2008, the EPA’s new 6H NESHAP Area Source rules for surface coatings became law, with compliance required by January 10th, 2011.  This law is specifically applicable to the collision repair industry, but if you apply surface coatings to metal or plastic substrates it may very likely apply to you as well.  The 6H NESHAP includes recordkeeping requirements, new filter requirements, and both classroom and hands-on spray efficiency technique training.  The required NESHAP training elements are met by the STAR® program.

Does this apply to me?

The 6H NESHAP addresses five metals that are hazardous air pollutants.  These metals are chromium (CR), cadmium (CD), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn).  If you spray any coating once a year that contains one of the five target metals, you are subject to these regulations.  If you are in the collision repair industry you are automatically subject to these regulations, even if you do not spray coatings containing the target metals. However, if you certify your coatings free of these metals you can apply for an exemption.

Other Training Benefits

In addition to compliance with the new regulation, other benefits of this training include:

• Health Impacts: Toxics, solvents and isocyanates can cause adverse health impacts such as enlarged lungs, irregular heartbeat, kidney failure, and nerve damage. This training can help reduce short and long-term exposure, improving employee safety and possible worker’s compensation claim issues.
• Material Savings: Increased transfer efficiency will reduce material usage. Research in the collision repair industry has shown that the STAR program has results in an average savings of $4,200 per year per employee in 1996 dollars. An industrial facility can save as much as $40,000 or more annually. Even the most experienced painters have been shown to improve their efficiency by as much as 25% through increased attention to application techniques.
• Environmental Impacts: Reduced emissions can result in cleaner air and better community standing. Also, improved spray efficiency generally reduces the amount of hazardous waste generated.
• Reduced Environmental Liabilities: By reducing the pollutants emitted you can reduce your liability and potentially reduce regulatory burden and/or permit costs.

Woodfold Manufacturing Case Study

• How much money and materials did Woodfold of Forest Grove, Oregon save using the STAR program? Read the Woodfold Case Study.

“The state-of-the-art equipment and training have enhanced the training our instructors provide by creating parameters that are more exacting and easier to identify and measure than the common ‘eye and feel’ method. The industry will benefit greatly as the students enter industry using more efficient methods. STAR not only saves considerable cost, but it also expands the awareness and concern for the environment by saving precious resources.”
- Karen Johnson, Dean for Trade and Industry, Renton Technical College

“I’ve worked with Ken Grimm of PPRC’s STAR program to host five different trainings over the last three years for auto body shops and collision repair programs at six different colleges and high schools around Idaho. The STAR program has provided a huge value to Idaho’s auto body industry, helping shops save money and materials, and comply with federal regulations and sending painters out into the workforce educated on spray efficiency techniques and other best practices.”
- Joanna Pierce, Pollution Prevention Coordinator, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

Additional Information Resources

Surface Coating NESHAP (Subpart HHHHHH) Information

• A copy of the regulation can be downloaded from the EPA here.
• A 6H NESHAP fact sheet can be downloaded from the EPA here.
• A summary brochure can be downloaded from the EPA here.
• You can find assorted compliance assistance resources here.

IOWA Waste Reduction Center Resources

• LaserPaint® is a laser-guided device designed to assist painters develop or refine their skills keeping consistent, accurate spray gun to part distance. For more information, or to purchase a LaserPaint® device, visit their website.
• The Auto Body Surface Coating Guide for collision repair shops and shop owners.
• The IWRC has developed two software products, one designed to help a facility track paint and solvent usage and the other designed to help a facility track paint emissions and sprayable material usage.  The software tracks on a on a rolling twelve-month basis and is available for free download.
• VirtualPaint is a training system, ideal for companies that do not want to shut down facilities and waste coating and materials for the sole purpose of training. VirtualPaint is an effective training system that requires no excessive time, no use of coating or materials, and does not produce any waste or air emissions.

US EPA Collision Repair Campaign

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a large collection of information and tools designed to help collision repair save money while coming into compliance with the new rules.
• The EPA Region 10 Collision Repair Campaign site is another large collection of information and tools, with special sections for businesses, vendors, regulators, and technical schools.
• EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program has an Automotive Refinishing Partnership program with excellent resources, ranging from health and safety information to best practices for everything from mixing rooms to prep areas to spray booths.
• The collection of DfE’s best practices can be found here.
• Also in partnership with EPA’s DfE program is the Ccar virtual shop, an interactive way to look at areas in a typical collision repair shop.  Click on a room, and then click on various parts of the room to see suggestions for improvement.

California EPA Air Resources Board STAR® Project

• STAR® Training Project overview and the project results.

Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

• This resource is a comprehensive, plain-language manual to help shops learn about and implement various pollution prevention strategies and best management practices.

Environmental Results Programs

• Oregon’s Eco-Biz program has both web-based information and technical assistance providers to help shops achieve Eco-Biz certification.
• The Eco-Biz toolkit is a comprehensive collection of fact sheets and checklists to help collision repair shops address environmental issues in a manageable way.
• Washington State Department of Ecology has a self-certification checklist for the auto body industry available for download.
• The State of Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management has an auto body certification program and their website contains numerous PowerPoint presentations, fact sheets, and more.

The Motivation / The Challenge

Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing the United States. In 2009, diesel emissions from mobile sources accounted for approximately 300,000 tons of directly emitted particulate matter and 6.4 million tons of nitrogen dioxide, coming from approximately 20 million operating diesel engines. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the transportation sector directly accounted for about 28 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2006, making it the second largest source of GHG emissions, behind only electricity generation (34 percent). According to the Clean Air Task Force, these emissions will cause an estimated 21,000 premature adult deaths and 2.4 million loss work days.

The Project

To help meet the challenge of reducing pollutants from diesel engines, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC). This campaign comprises of regulatory programs that offer support to innovative technologies that can help address the 20 million operating diesel engines. One such program–the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA)– began in 2005 and offers funding assistance for projects that significantly reduce diesel emissions.

This project will achieve significant reduction in diesel emissions by installing aerodynamic side skirts for over 2,000 truck trailers. Specifically, the grant will enable Tacoma’s Interstate Distributor Co. to implement one of the trucking industry’s largest installations of aerodynamic trailer side skirts to date – using an innovative new product engineered by Freight Wing Inc. in Seattle. Interstate selected the Freight Wing “Aeroflex” product through a rigorous testing program that evaluated several emerging efficiency technologies verified by the EPA Smartway Transport initiative.

The Results

What will this project accomplish? The EPA and PPRC predict a seven percent reduction of diesel fuel consumption and emissions for over 2,000 trailers in the Interstate fleet, resulting in estimated annual savings of 1.1 million gallons of diesel. Over the product life-span, this will result a total savings of approximately 16 million gallons of fuel, $45 million, and prevent 182,633 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, this significant reduction will improve the air quality in Puget Sound communities by minimizing the toxins found in diesel emissions that are associated with cancer, pulmonary and cardiovascular health issues, and others.

The project is one of the largest implementations of the EPA’s SmartWay-verified aerodynamic technologies on heavy-duty Class 8 trucks and will provide additional jobs for local Puget Sound communities. This partnership will help to establish EPA Region 10 as a global leader in the development and use of the new technology.

These results now have an even larger impact on protecting human health. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), recently classified  diesel engine exhaust as a Group 1 carcinogen based on new evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer

Media

PPRC MEDIA RELEASES (August 2010):

READ WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING HERE.

LISTEN TO THE AUGUST 19, 2010 MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL WITH THE PPRC DERA TEAM.

Len Davis of Pangeality Productions produced this short video while on assignment for PPRC at Interstate Distributor Co. headquarters in Tacoma, Washington. Lee Owens, VP of Fleet Operations, gives a tour of the installation bay where the sideskirts are being installed on trailers and talks about the savings to his company and the community as a result of our partnership.

Certified shops receive publicity through printed advertising and other media coverage. EcoBiz certification allows a business to market its sustainable practices to its clientele. Since many Oregon consumers are going “green”, certification helps businesses attract new clients.

EcoBiz certification for auto body shops not only promotes many multi-media ecological business practices, it helps body shops go above and beyond compliance with the new EPA air toxics rule and often saves them money on top of that!

Contact Eco-Biz Associate Mitchell Frister: mfrister@pprc.org or 503-348-6219.

The EcoBiz Team at the 100th Certification

Latest Eco-Biz News

• Case Study: Pacific Landscape Management saves clients big money with irrigation smart controllers
• Watch the speech that Jim Hauser of Portland, Oregon’s Hawthorne Automotive Clinic gave at the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ press conference to help reinforce the need for funding of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s small business projects like EcoBiz and STAR training.
• Down To Earth Irrigation was awarded Ecobiz Landscape certification and helps customers reduce water usage by up to 30 percent. Read the full press release.
• Kadel’s Nu Way Auto Body certifies it’s 12th shop and final shop. Read the press release here.
• Kaady Car Wash is the first car wash to receive certification in the EcoBiz program and received certification for all 12 Oregon locations. Read the press release here.
• Beaverton School District transportation shop and support center received certification as the first multi-media operation. Read about it on page two of the district newsletter.
• Everett Street Autoworks of Portland is the most recent automotive business to be certified and they go well above and beyond the requirements of the program.
• Kadel’s Nu Way Auto Body of Oregon certified their Hillsboro location in February 2010. This is their 10th and final location to be certified. Read the full press release here.
• Washington County (OR) Fleet Services earns EcoBiz certification for the 500+ vehicles and equipment in their department. Read the full press release here.

Other Eco-Biz Resources

• EcoBiz Homepage