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Governor Eric Holcomb has declared September 17-23, 2023, as Pollution Prevention Week in the State of Indiana. Read the full proclamation [PDF] and visit idem.IN.gov/prevention to learn more about Pollution Prevention strategies for your home or business, partnerships & programs, and available grants.

In 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partnered with IDEM and the Purdue University Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to fund W.A.S.T.E. Stream Mapping assessments for 15 Indiana manufacturers as part of a targeted P2 initiative to reduce pollution at Indiana manufacturing facilities. W.A.S.T.E. Stream Mapping is a pollution detection approach that considers material inputs and outputs at all stages of production. These assessments take a broad look at manufacturing processes by focusing on all environmental areas including Water, Air, Solid, Toxics (chemicals), and Energy (W.A.S.T.E.).

With the assistance of the U.S. EPA, the W.A.S.T.E. Audits were conducted at a significantly reduced cost to participating facilities. Through these assessments, the Purdue University MEP met with facility staff, conducted on-site training, and assessed processes to identify toxic materials, hazardous emissions, waste streams, and energy improvements. Businesses received a report and presentation from Purdue MEP outlining facility-specific opportunities and recommendations for procedural and equipment improvements to prevent pollution and reduce waste. Once businesses reviewed the recommendations, the Purdue University MEP offered guidance as the businesses explored innovative solutions to the identified opportunities for improvement. Follow-up assistance included Purdue’s Faculty Assistance Program. This program paired certain companies with specialized University experts who assisted in resolving any unique or challenging problems the facilities faced. Participants also received 16 hours of training and up to 40 hours of technical assistance from the Purdue University MEP program.

The 15 participating businesses were eligible for additional seed funding from the U.S. EPA to implement the facility’s improvement projects. In October 2021, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) awarded five Indiana businesses a total of $50,000 as part of this seed funding. This grant funding provided up to 50% of the cost to implement pollution prevention projects, which were developed following the W.A.S.T.E. Audits at each facility. Below is a list of the recipients who were selected to receive additional funding:

1. ALOM Technologies (Indianapolis, Ind)
2. Ameri-Can Engineering (Argos, Ind.)
3. BCI Solutions, Inc. (Bremen, Ind.)
4. Stellantis Kokomo Casting Plant (Kokomo, Ind.)
5. Stellantis Kokomo Transmission Plant (Kokomo, Ind.)

While not all 15 facilities who underwent W.A.S.T.E. Audits were able to receive additional seed funding, many of the participating facilities still followed through on innovative pollution prevention (P2) projects, resulting in impressive reductions in pollution output and financial savings. By the end of the two-year period following the W.A.S.T.E. Stream Mapping, the 11 facilities that continued to participate successfully reduced CO₂e emissions by over 740 metric tons, reduced solid waste by over 1,500 pounds, diverted 1,000 tons of solid waste from landfills to recycling centers, and reduced the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by 600 pounds. All these recorded reductions occur annually, meaning that, for example, an additional 1,000 tons of solid waste will be recycled each year for as long as the 11 participants continue to utilize their newly implemented P2 procedures. Additionally, the participating facilities will save over $300,000/year combined.