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Pollution Prevention: The Foundation of Sustainability
Pollution Prevention (P2) means reducing or eliminating pollution at the source so that it never enters the environment in the first place. Instead of managing pollution after it has been created or at the “end of the pipe,” P2 focuses on first eliminating waste; then if the waste can’t be eliminated, try to find ways…
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Water Quality: Keeping Pollutants from Going down the (Storm) Drain
By Harry Campbell You may have noticed a lot of water rushing into storm drains during the heavy rains this past month. This storm water runoff comes from homes, city streets, parking lots, industrial facilities, and construction sites and often contains sediment, fertilizer, pesticides, oil, gasoline, pet waste, or hazardous waste. And because storm water…
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Hazardous Waste: DEQ Protects the Public through Inspections, Education
By Alex Pashley Almost everything we do creates some kind of waste. While many wastes are relatively benign, some are hazardous and need to be regulated to protect public health and the environment. As a hazardous waste inspector for the Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste (DSHW), I evaluate the hazardous…
