Pollution prevention (P2) generally applies to the practice of setting priorities on how wastes are handled.  This is often depicted as the P2 Hierarchy.  From top to bottom, the basic philosophy is to reduce, reuse, and recycle, often referred to as the 3Rs.  The goal of such a philosophy is to minimize the generation and disposal of waste. 

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) strongly supports the P2 philosophy and has incorporated such philosophy into its business practices as demonstrated by the inclusion of waste minimization and recycling within established corporate and individual environmental leadership principles. 

Recycling activities initially started at NPPD’s larger locations, but have cascaded to the smaller facilities and even to the individual level.  Employee initiated or enhanced recycling efforts demonstrate that District employees are concerned with protecting the environment by incorporating waste disposal, recycling and reuse considerations into their daily work.

While efforts to reduce waste make good business sense and almost always have a positive affect on a company’s financial performance, the benefits of recycling are far reaching.  Beside the potential for payback in dollars for market value of recyclable materials, recycling creates employment opportunities, extends the life of landfills, saves energy and resources and reduces taxes.  Recycling, reusing, and reducing waste all support NPPD’s mission to “enhancing the quality of life in Nebraska.”

The following examples of recycling efforts in 2008 provide a snapshot of the types of efforts and results that are seen at NPPD.  In 2008, NPPD recycled 1,193 tons of steel, 68 tons of copper, 109 tons of office paper, 292 tons of aluminum, and utilized nearly 113,014 gallons of used oil for energy recovery.  As part of on-going efforts to find markets for use of ash generated from the combustion of coal, NPPD marketed approximately 140,000 tons of fly ash and bottom ash in 2008.

While these efforts represent the results of larger, more easily documented efforts, it must be emphasized that all efforts, not matter how small, are important.  From collecting office paper and aluminum cans at the smallest office to collecting tons of scrap metal at the largest facilities, all employees are encouraged to keep the WHO,WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and WHY of P2 in mind: