Managing 
Chemical Wastes 
What the chemical industry is doing to 
improve waste-disposal methods 
America’s chemical companies 
have already invested hundreds of 
millions of dollars in safer, better 
waste-disposal methods. We’ll 
spend over $2 billion more on 
waste-disposal facilities in the next 
two years. Here’s how we’re ad- 
vancing the “state of the art”: 
1. Eliminating wasteful 
processes 
We’re redesigning manufacturing 
processes and improving efficiency. 
We’re adding on-line treatment sys- 
tems to neutralize, reduce in volume 
or change the nature of waste by- 
products. We’re also using recovery 
techniques that let us recycle wastes 
back into the production process. 
One company, for example, is salvag- 
ing phenol, used to manufacture plas- 
tics, pharmaceuticals and other useful 
products. 
2. Building secure landfills 
Secure landfills have a barrier that 
keeps wastes from seeping out into 
groundwater and keeps groundwater 
from migrating through the landfill. 
Other features may include facilities 
for recycling liquids or a wastewater 
treatment unit to clean up liquids for 
safe disposal. Landfills — if properly 
designed, operated and monitored — 
are one of the best ways to dispose of 
many kinds of solid wastes. 
3. Continuing industry 
commitment 
We were finding ways to manage solid 
wastes long before the nation recog- 
nized the need for better waste- 
disposal methods. In fact, we already 
had much of the required waste- 
disposal technology and remedial 
strategies in place — or being 
developed — when Congress passed 
the Resource Conservation and Re- 
covery Act of 1976, which sets forth 
strict waste-disposal guidelines. 
4- Sharing knowledge and 
new technology 
As we develop new waste-disposal 
techniques, we share our knowledge 
with industry-, government and the 
public. In 1979, we began conducting 
a series of regional seminars that pre- 
sented current techniques for solid- 
waste disposal. Individual companies 
may use videotapes, visual aids or 
other techniques to train personnel in 
waste-disposal methods. 
5 . Encouraging solid-waste 
exchanges 
Sometimes one chemical company’s 
wastes can become another com- 
pany’s raw material. Fluoride wastes 
from a phosphoric acid plant, for 
example, can be used by a company 
producing aluminum. So the chemi- 
cal industry has encouraged the de- 
velopment of waste-exchange orga- 
nizations, which develop and 
distribute lists of available wastes. 
For a booklet that tells more about what 
were doing to protect the environment, 
unite to: Chemical Manufacturers Associa- 
tion, Dept.HL-101, Box 363, Beltsville, 
M D 20705. 
Subsurface 
lateral drains 
Secure Chemical Landfill 
Clay seal 
Depending on the solid waste, the chemical industry selects disposal techniques such as incineration, 
by-product recovery, stabilization or secure landfill design to protect the environment. 
America’s Chemical Industry 
The member companies of the Chemical Manufacturers Association 
