You can take one of two approaches to prioritize pollution prevention opportunities: 1) look for chemicals with significant health risks and exposure, or ones with high costs, or 2) look for easy changes that can be make quickly.
Material substitution
Use non-mercury based preservatives.
Substitute sodium hypochlorite for sodium dichromate.
Substitute alcohols for benzene.
Use non-mercury thermometers.
Use biodegradable detergents or other nonchromium-containing cleaners for glassware.
Purchasing/inventory control
The American Chemical Society estimates that 40 percent of waste generated in research labs consists of unused chemicals.
Reduce the chance of duplicate orders by
centralizing chemical purchasing in your lab.
Use a computer system to track chemicals.
Review chemical inventory annually to avoid purchase of materials already on hand and to gain a better understanding of actual use.
Consider disposal cost at the time of purchase. Disposal cost may be 20 to 50 times the purchase price when you account for regulatory costs and time managing the waste.
Reuse
Use spent solvent for the initial glassware rinse and fresh solvent for the final rinse.
Use chilled water loops instead of continuously running water for cooling.
You can take one of two approaches to prioritize pollution prevention opportunities: 1) look for chemicals with significant health risks and exposure, or ones with high costs, or 2) look for easy changes that can be make quickly.