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Cleaner production and the water cycle

Introduction to cleaner production

Maarten Siebel

UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

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CONTENTS

1. CLEANER PRODUCTION

1.1. INTRODUCTION INTO CLEANER PRODUCTION …………………………...….…...

1
1.1.1. TREND-SETTING INTRO .................................................................................1
1.1.2. THEORETICAL CONCEPT OF ECO-EFFICIENCY .................................................3
1.1.2.1 Monitoring – key to improving eco-efficiency ..........................4
1.1.3. WHAT IS CLEANER PRODUCTION, HOW IS IT ACHIEVED?..................................5
1.1.4. CLEANER PRODUCTION – GOOD BUSINESS? ..................................................8
1.1.5. CLEANER PRODUCTION – A FUTURE PROSPECT? .........................................11
1.1.6 REFERENCES ............................................................................................12

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1.1. INTRODUCTION INTO CLEANER PRODUCTION

1.1.1 TREND-SETTING INTRO

Environmental impact is inherent to the very existence of life. Plants die at the end of their
lifetime, leaving organic material to microbial organisms to degrade and reuse. Animals
die and leave organic or inorganic material behind for degradation and/or reuse. Equally,
human beings die and leave their bodily materials for subsequent use. This has been the
case since there was life on earth and in principle would, by itself, never be reason for
concern.

Concern comes in when realizing that man, in contrast to plants and animals, does not to
live only from what is readily available in nature but also uses materials which are not
readily available such as those found under-ground, in the sea or in the atmosphere, or
uses these after physical or chemical alterations.

In doing so, man may have various impacts upon his environment resulting from
obtaining certain materials, making products from those materials, using those products
and, after the useful life thereof, discarding these products.

With only few people on earth, these impacts could easily be absorbed by the
environment, did not really affect our environmental capital. However, the growth of the
population in the last century has been exponential. Was the impact from a few hundreds
of millions of people possibly acceptable, the impact of over 1 billion started to become
visible (interestingly, the global two billion population level was reached at the time that
environmental awareness in The Netherlands resulted in the construction of the first
waste water treatment plants, around 1930).

Many of the problems we are presently facing can be associated with 1) the size of the
population inhabiting this planet, 2) the increasing global per capita material
consumption, and 3) the material and energy inefficiency of industrial activities in
satisfying this consumption.

The focus of this paper is on the third point – industrial efficiency. The objective is to
show that there are ample opportunities to improve upon the efficiency of industrial
activities and, therefore, to reduce the environmental impact thereof.

EXAMPLE INDUSTRIAL IMPACT: GLOBAL WARMING:

- Through burning fossil fuels in power stations, furnaces and heating systems,

- By allowing the evaporation or release of certain chlorinated solvents and CFC’s,

- By operating processes, maintaining buildings and running transport systems which do

not employ the most effective means of saving energy,

- By poor maintenance - inefficient vehicles, processes, machinery can lead to increased

consumption of fossil fuels.

Eco-Management Guide, 1998

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THE COST OF END’-OF-PIPE’:

In 1992 the US spent US$ 100 billion, the EU US$ 30 billion on ‘end-of-pipe’ treatment.
However, There is very little direct financial return to the industries that incur this
expenditure (Ecological Sustainable Industrial Development, 1994)

Industrial activities contribute significantly to some of the main global environmental

problems. A few examples are given in the text boxes (Eco-Management Guide, 1998).

The presently common approach from industry, when willing to reduce their
environmental impact, is to construct facilities at the end of the production line to reduce
waste flows, the so-called ‘end-of-pipe’ approach.

EXAMPLE INDUSTRIAL IMPACT: INDUSTRY & WASTE:

- By producing environment unfriendly products such as dyes, synthetic fibers, paints and
plastics,

- By producing sludge containing heavy metals,by concentrating on cures and treatments

for waste (“end of pipe”) rather than preventing its creation,

-By not investigating methods for recycling and re-use of waste, such as paper and
metals,by

- By failing to investigate waste-exchange schemes

Eco-Management Guide, 1998

This approach could be considered logical when realizing that it follows the common
wisdom (we only see the doctor when we already have headache), and most
governments thinking (e.g. legislation, stimuli, subsidies) are geared that way. However,
one may justly wonder if this approach is in the interest of the industry, and even in the
interest of the environment.

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