Reducing and Recycling Hazardous Materials in Alaska: A Summary of Selected Commercial Hazardous Waste Minimization Programs

Abstract

A wide variety of businesses, manufacturers, institutions, military posts, small businesses, and agencies in Alaska regularly handle hazardous wastes at their facilities. Many of these facilities have chosen voluntarily to provide information about their efforts to minimize hazardous wastes. The information they provide helps to encourage and to expand hazardous waste minimization efforts statewide. Furthermore, the information supports the state's efforts to work cooperatively with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help businesses and agencies comply with federal hazardous waste guidelines.' The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the information provided by facilities in Alaska. Our analysis is based on information reported by facilities in their "Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Supplements to Annual Hazardous Waste Reports" for the last three years. In addition we have conducted in-depth telephone interviews with selected oil and gas and govemment facilities to leam in more detail how they manage hazardous materials. This report expands in several ways on a study we completed last year. In this new study we've looked in more detail at the written responses of the pollution prevention reports; we've compiled data for more than one year; and we've analyzed the results of our telephone interviews with facilities to learn more about the unique characteristics of waste management. In Section II of this report, we describe the most common wastes handled by facilities based on their responses to the pollution prevention reports. InSection III, we describe the characteristics ofhazardous waste minimization assessments and plans based on responses in telephone interviews and the pollution prevention reports.