Pollution Prevention Act (PPA)
By: Sydney Blunschi
Purpose
The Pollution Prevention Act is a national environmental legislative article with the purpose of preventing pollution by reducing the generation of pollutants at their origin. It requires companies to report toxic releases each year.
It's All Part of a Process
The PPA considers the most effective options first, weighing consequences and sacrifices to find the best option to handle the type of pollution.
Pollution
This is exactly the kind of pollution that the PPA exists to control and avoid.
Clean and Proud
The PPA commemorates its 25th year of preventing pollution in 2015.
Strengths/Successes and Weaknesses/Failures
Strengths/Successes
- reduces the amount of pollution
- uses cost effective changes in production, operation, and raw material use
- attempts to stop or reduce pollution before it can damage the environment
- Focused industry, government, and public attention on reducing pollution
- increases efficiency in use of water, energy, or other natural resources
Weaknesses/Failures
- opportunities for source reduction sometimes not realized due to existing regulations
- requires compliance and a focus on treatment and disposal
- sometimes pollution is unavoidable, though they try to make as little impact as possible
Original Draft Dates and Amendments
- The Pollution Prevention Act was first drafted in 1990
- It was amended on December 31,2002
Suggestions
This act seems to work very well on its own, with very few flaws. It would be nice for pollution and toxic release to be at 0, but as this is near impossible and certainly improbable, the attempts at finding the safest way possible to handle pollution is very well guided and extremely appreciated. I have no suggestions for improvement.
Sources:
Environmental Laws. (2002, December 31). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://www.epw.senate.gov/environmental_laws.htm
Summary of the Pollution Prevention Act. (2015, June 1). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-pollution-prevention-act