A Citizen’s Guide to 

Greener Cleanups

What Are Greener Cleanups?

The process of cleaning up a hazardous waste site uses 

energy, water, and other natural or material resources. 

This process places demands on the environment and 

creates an environmental “footprint” of its own. A greener 

cleanup looks at this footprint closely and finds ways to 

reduce it throughout the life of a project, while achieving 

cleanup goals and preserving site reuse options. Early 

consideration of the environmental footprint of a cleanup 

can help lead to sustainable reuse or redevelopment of 

the site.

How Does It Work?

A project team working toward a greener cleanup 

considers many techniques to reduce the footprint 

and compares their environmental advantages and 

disadvantages.

Because site conditions vary widely, so do the 

approaches and methods used to make a cleanup 

greener. To help find ways to reduce a cleanup’s 

environmental footprint, possible environmental impacts 

are grouped into five core elements shown in the graphic. 

Here are just a few of the examples of activities under 

each core element that promote greener cleanups:

•	 Energy use can be reduced by assuring all cleanup 

equipment runs efficiently and is properly sized for 

the task. For example, a less efficient pump might be 

replaced by one that is more efficient and uses less 

electricity. Using fuel-efficient trucks could reduce 

use of diesel fuel. Greener cleanups also can find 

ways to use solar, wind, or other renewable energy 

to power equipment. The use of renewable energy 

reduces the electricity or natural gas needed from 

local utilities.

• Impacts on the air and atmosphere can be 

reduced by using less energy from utilities that rely 

heavily on burning fossil fuels, such as coal or oil. 

Air pollutants from site activities can be reduced 

by adding filters to the exhaust systems of heavy 

machinery and replacing machine engines with 

newer, cleaner models. 

•	 Water used during the cleanup process can be 

recirculated and reused instead of using fresh 

water. Water quality could be protected by building 

soil barriers around a construction area to prevent 

stormwater runoff, which can carry topsoil to nearby 

streams and harm fish and other wildlife.

• Taking precautions to protect land and ecosystems

in the cleanup area could involve relocating animals 

to safer areas or landscaping with native plants. 

Restricting truck traffic to paved roads or to defined 

pathways in unpaved areas avoids unnecessary 

land disturbance and can protect soil and habitats. 

•	 Materials and waste management maximizes 

material reuse or recycling and minimizes waste. 

For example, saving concrete, wood, or other 

demolition materials for later construction activities 

can significantly reduce a cleanup’s environmental 

footprint.

Windmills power equipment to remove oil from contaminated 

groundwater. 

The core elements of an environmental footprint.
United States Office of Solid Waste and EPA 542-F-12-009

Environmental Protection Emergency Response September 2012

Agency (5102G) www.epa.gov/superfund/sites

www.cluin.org

Example

Owners of the Apache Nitrogen 

Products, Inc., Superfund site 

in Arizona, cleaned up contaminated soil and groundwater with 

many green features.

• A wetland system was

constructed to remove contaminants from groundwater through

natural processes. The hillside

location of the wetland allows

water to flow through the

system without using pumps.

• Renewable energy powers

the equipment that recirculates water through the

wetland.

• Treated groundwater is

pumped back underground to

replenish clean groundwater

supplies rather than releasing

it to creeks or ponds.

• Clay for the soil cap was

obtained locally, minimizing

transportation impacts.

These features help make a 

cleanup greener by avoiding 

chemicals sometimes used to 

treat contaminants, reducing 

the energy needed to operate 

cleanup equipment, and 

increasing the supply of clean 

groundwater.

For More Information

For more information about 

this and other technologies in 

the Citizen’s Guide Series, 

visit:

www.cluin.org/remediation

www.cluin.org/products/

citguide

www.cluin.org/

greenremediation

NOTE: This fact sheet is intended solely as general information to the public. It is not intended, nor can it be relied upon, to create any rights 

enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States, or to endorse the use of products or services provided by specific vendors. The 

Agency also reserves the right to change this fact sheet at any time without public notice.

How Long Will It Take?

Taking the steps to assure a 

greener cleanup does not need 

to delay cleanup progress. Simple 

changes in field procedures such 

as setting a “no-idling” policy 

for machinery engines can be 

made within days. In comparison, 

changes such as installing a solar 

energy system could take a year to 

plan and months to construct while 

cleanup progresses. Planning for 

a greener cleanup at the beginning 

instead of the middle of a project 

can lead to the biggest reductions 

in a project’s environmental 

footprint. 

How Might It Affect Me?

All steps of a greener cleanup are meant to improve long-term health of a 

community by protecting the environment in which we live. Many steps may go 

unnoticed outside of the project team. Some may result in direct benefits to a 

community, such as reduced traffic and noise due to fewer waste-hauling trucks 

on the roads. Other greener cleanup methods could offer ways for individuals 

to become more involved, such as finding local uses for uncontaminated scrap 

metal, lumber, or demolition material. 

Why Use A Greener Cleanup Strategy?

As a nation, we value land as a 

natural, cultural, and economic 

resource. Using a greener strategy 

is often a smarter way to clean 

up contaminated land. Greener 

cleanups can help decrease the 

use of fossil fuels such as oil and 

coal. A greener strategy also could 

lower cleanup costs by reducing 

the amount of electricity and 

materials that are used. In general, 

a greener strategy started during 

the early stages of a cleanup could 

set the stage for sustainable reuse 

or redevelopment of the site.

Simple changes in field procedures can reduce a 

site’s environmental footprint. 

Heavy machinery used to remove contaminated 

soil can run on ultra-low sulfur diesel.