4    DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPUTERIZED MODEL FOR
WASTE REDUCTION ALTERNATIVES
Gary D. Miller, Assistant Director and Research Program Manager
David L. Thomas, Director
Claudia A. Washburn, Research Scientist
Frank Brookfield, Data Management Specialist
Daniel D. Kraybill, Industrial Assistance Engineer
Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center
State Water Survey Division
Savoy, Illinois 61874
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Congress specifically mandated waste reduction in the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste
Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Interest in waste reduction
has increased greatly as a result of this mandate and because other RCRA provisions have caused
increases in the costs of waste management. Another reason many generators are interested in reducing the wastes they produce is to decrease their environmental impairment liabilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or "Superfund").
The Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center (HWRIC) was established in 1984 as a
part of the State Water Survey Division of the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources
(ENR). HWRIC is responsible for providing expertise to the State of Illinois in three areas of
hazardous waste management: research, information services, and industrial and technical assistance.
The legislative mandate given to HWRIC is ". . . to stimulate and support research, to provide
training and to facilitate the flow of technical information on source reduction and alternative
technologies between industry and the research community." One of the goals of HWRIC and of
many agencies dealing with hazardous waste issues is to help industry find ways to reduce the amount
and toxicity of hazardous wastes generated. To accomplish this, generators must be aware of their
waste management alternatives and of the true costs associated with disposal. To effectively help
generators reduce their hazardous wastes, state agencies need to know how generators are presently
managing their hazardous wastes and what waste reduction alternatives are available to them.
Many companies have found ways to reduce the amount or toxicity of the wastes they produce. The
techniques used include such low cost approaches as better housekeeping and the installation of flow
control valves. Sometimes more capital-intensive techniques including segregation of waste streams,
process modification, or reformulation of products have been used. Changes in one part of a company's operations can have an effect on other aspects of a process. Reductions in the amount of
hazardous waste produced at one point in a plant could result in increased air emissions, energy
consumption, or other waste volumes at other points. To evaluate the overall effectiveness of a
particular waste reduction technique, all wastes generated by an industry must be considered.
By implementing waste reduction techniques generators can save costs for treatment, storage,
transportation, and disposal of wastes. They can also reduce their potential environmental liabilities
and regulatory burden. In some cases it may be possible to eliminate the generation of hazardous
wastes altogether. Other benefits may include increased protection of public health and employee
health and safety, protection of the environment, increased profits, improved public image, and
meeting state and national waste minimization policy goals.
THE COMPUTERIZED WASTE REDUCTION MODEL
Through contacts with industry it became clear in 1986 that there is a great need for technical
assistance and organized information on waste reduction. There was no publicly available organized
43rd Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings. <   1989 lewis Publishers, Inc.. Chelsea. Michigan 48118.
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