Commercial / Industrial Facilities Prevention

General Information

• Buy only materials you will use before expiration dates, monitor inventory and rotate stock.
• Establish Spill Prevention Plans.
• Perform routine inspection and maintenance of all containers, vessels, and tanks. Monitor for leaks or damage.
• Properly label and date new and used waste containers.
• Protect chemicals/wastes from spills, weather, pests, and tampering.
• Purchase chemicals in appropriate sizes if possible. Store chemicals away from drains and with spill containment.
• Recycle wastes.
• Sweep floors rather than hosing down.
• Use drip pans to minimize spills.
• Use recycled or recyclable products.

Service Industries

• Don’t hose dirty floors into sand traps. Use a broom first then mop. (Less water and trap goes longer between pumping)
• Fully drain equipment before disassembling for repairs.
• Heat shop with a waste oil-burning heater.
• Reclaim used solvents for reuse with a solvent distiller.
• Recycle oil, solvents, antifreeze, etc.
• Reuse rinse water as makeup water by rinsing over vats.
• Segregate wastes for recycling.
• Store wastes and bulk chemicals away from drains.
• Turn off and cover vats when not in use.
• Use dry cleaning methods (wire brush, sandpaper, etc.)
• Use less hazardous solvents.
• Use multipurpose solvents instead of multiple solvents.

Food Service Industry

• Clean grease trap regularly to eliminate build-up of grease and solids.
• Properly dispose of food wastes.
• Properly size grease trap for best performance.
• Recycle grease from cooking, fryers, etc.
• Remove food and grease from dishes prior to washing.
• Routinely inspect grease trap for damage or defective parts and repair or replace as needed.

Printing Industries

• Reclaim used solvents with a solvent distiller.
• Recycle inks, solvents, and fountain solutions.
• Recycle paper.
• Reuse fixers, developers, and rinse water.
• Use a silver reclaimer.

Washing Industries

• Avoid cleaning agents with excessively high or low pH’s, if possible.
• Properly dispose of lint and all sludge.
• Routinely inspect pretreatment for damage.
• Routinely monitor and clean pretreatment units.
• Use cleanable screens at discharge.
• Use lower temperatures waters, if possible.

Medical Facilities

• As “Wet” photo processing equipment for developing X-Rays needs replacing, consider switching to “dry” photo processing or even digital X-Rays.
• Reuse and recycle waste chemicals.
• Segregate wastes for disposal and recycling.
• Use analytical testing instead of “Wet” tests.

Summary

This information is not inclusive of all pollution prevention methods. More information pertaining to your particular industry may be obtained by visiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's website, or by calling the City of Odessa Pretreatment Division at 432-563-2107. Thank you for your interest in pollution prevention.