(All) Waste Prevention Technology

["Michael Keefe" <keefem@psinet.com>]

>From a practical and economic stand point there must be room for both the
evolutionary and the revolutionary.  While most businesses outside the
Fortune 100/500 wait for "no waste" technology to commercialize and become
feasible there are plenty of opportunities to improve process efficiencies.
There may be less glamor to it, but if a plating shop can start with boring
counterflow rinsing/dragout return etc etc etc, they should because they
will be better prepared for more sophisticated options as they come along.
Again, the bottom line is risk reduction -- either immediate or in a life
cycle sense...  This is true because there is waste associated with
everything we do and use.  For example, the Printon technology sounds
great...but what about energy use differences between the old way and the
new way, and supplier wastes associated with manufacturing the
electroconducting powder?  Again, this technology is better if, in an
immediate and life cycle way, there is risk reduction and resource
conservation.

Michael Keefe
Tetra Tech EM Inc.
keefem@psinet.com