Pollution Prevention & Environmental Management Systems
Pollution Prevention is the use of processes, practices, materials, products or energy that avoid or minimize the creation of pollutants and waste, and reduce the overall risk to human health and the environment. Pollution Prevention offers significant advantages over traditional environmental management techniques. The focus is on anticipating and preventing pollution, reducing the use of toxic chemicals and minimizing the generation of industrial wastes. Pollution prevention promotes continuous improvement through design, technical, operational and behavioural changes.
Pollution prevention offers the potential for significant cost savings through the reduction of wastes at the source. These savings can arise from reduced waste disposal costs, increased process efficiency, and reduced raw material usage. In addition to these conventional costs, however, organizations can also benefit from reductions in less obvious or hidden costs. Less obvious costs include regulatory costs, employee training, clean-up costs and corporate image. These costs are often overlooked, but they are real and they can be significant.
Pinchin Environmental offers numerous services to assist organizations in the development and implementation of innovative pollution prevention plans, techniques and principles. Our personnel have provided expertise to many organizations to effectively reduce wastes, resulting in cost savings. We apply a quality management philosophy to pollution prevention, in the belief that what gets measured, gets managed. As well, Pinchin Environmental views pollution prevention as an integral part of an organization’s overall environmental management system. A summary of services offered by Pinchin Environmental is listed below.
Pollution Prevention Services:
- Development and implementation of pollution prevention plans
- Quantification and identification of source pollutants, including complete inventories
- Identifying pollution prevention opportunities, including process modifications
- Development of environmental management programs
- Incorporation of pollution prevention in Environmental Management Systems
- Provision of training programs and workshops
- Coaching/facilitating cross-functional teams in the pollution prevention process
Municipal Water Systems
Industries and businesses utilizing municipal water systems may be required to meet local discharge bylaws which are more stringent than provincial standards. For example, organizations operating in the City of Toronto must meet the requirements of the new City of Toronto By-law No. 457-2000.
All sectors are required to develop a Pollution Prevention (P2) Plan and Summary Plan. As with other requirements in the Sewer Use By-law, failure to comply can lead to enforcement action including fines and charges. According to Section 13(3) of the By-Law, a contravention of the pollution prevention planning requirements can result in a fine of up to $5,000 for every day of the offence.
Contact the Environmental Due Diligence & Remediation Group
For more information, you may contact our Environmental Due Diligence & Remediation Group by phone or email via the "Contact Us" button to the left.
