With better practices, better technology and more efficient operation, much of our next ten years' waste can be avoided. Reducing waste increases productivity, especially if we apply our science and technology to develop no-waste processes. Companies like Dow Chemical, DuPont, and Monsanto include waste avoidance in their quality programs because every dollar of avoided waste cost becomes a dollar of profit. Reducing waste reduces our vulnerability. There are a multiplicity of laws and regulations that govern how much waste we can make, how we store it, how we move it and how we document it.
Minor mistakes can lead to findings and fines, and sometimes lawsuits and shutdowns.
It is the waste, not the processes that produce it, that is subject to environmental laws and regulations. We can avoid all of this by not making the waste in the first place. Reducing waste also builds trust with our Northern New Mexico neighbors. At public meetings, we explain that the scientific risk of burying our waste or shipping it to WIPP is small. We often are asked what if our science is incomplete and our risk analysis is wrong.