Director's Column

From the Source - Summer 1997

by G. Robert Kerr

We frequently speak of waste minimization-pollution prevention-source reduction as it if they were relatively new concepts. Of course, we know they aren't, as many of you have adopted these concepts into your business operations, and many more of you plan to do so in the future. It's interesting to note that the basic underlying concepts - prevention, recovery, reuse, and recycling - are not new, but are modeled on many of the principles of ecology. The word ecology is based on the Greek word oikos, which means house. In general, ecology is the study of the "home" that a group of organisms live in, and their interactions with it and with each other. An example of similar interactions is found in how the processes and inputs and outputs of our manufacturing and business operations affect us and the natural and built environments.

I was recently reminded of these possible comparisons between waste minimization and ecology while reading a short article by one of my heroes, Dr. Eugene P. Odum, in the Journal of Cleaner Production, entitled "Commentary: Source reduction, input management and dual capitalism." Dr. Odum is the founder and Director Emeritus of the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology. He is widely regarded as the father of the science of ecology, and he has written several basic ecology textbooks and over 200 scientific papers. Dr. Odum is also known for his work in ecosystem theory, which explores the linkages between the goods and services of both man and nature.

In the article, Dr. Odum relates a story about speaking to a group of junior high school science students on how ecology helps us understand and deal with human problems. He showed the students a cartoon of a tanker truck with the words "CAUTION: HAZARDOUS MATERIAL" written on the side. The caption to the cartoon has the driver saying to a passenger, "Didn't you know? We just drive around. This is a mobile toxic waste dump." Dr. Odum then asked the students what the cartoon meant, and they replied that we don't have places anymore to dump toxic waste. He then asked what the solution to this problem could be, and one student said "We will just have to stop producing the stuff." Dr. Odum goes on to discuss how this simple concept of source reduction is part of what he terms input management. To increase efficiencies and reduce or eliminate materials that damage the environment, he believes that we must focus on inputs to our production systems. In particular, he says this is the only good way to deal with non-point source pollutants. Further, Dr. Odum states that current source reduction and pollution prevention efforts may not be enough to maintain our ecosystem in the future. He proposes a new ecological economics system in which the non-market goods and services of the earth (the atmosphere, forests, the oceans, etc.) are given equal value as human-produced market goods. Under this proposed system, business and industry would consider the market possibilities for their products and services, as well as how to produce the product or service with the most efficient use of resources and with as little pollution as possible. Management would give equal attention to what goes in and comes out of the system, as to what happens inside the system. Also, this new economics would internalize the cost of inefficiencies and waste, so that consumers of goods and services would pay for the increasing costs of maintaining the quality of the ecosystem.

Dr. Odum is clearly a provocative "outside the box" thinker who has the power to stimulate discussion. I would be interested in knowing your thoughts on the future of pollution prevention and the kinds of steps we may have to take in order to achieve sustainability of a high quality of life in the face of increasing populations and resource demands. We will attempt to summarize or publish some of the more thoughtful responses in future issues.

Note: Whatever you think of Odum's theory, it is true that a generous application of the concepts of waste minimization will influence the business operation. This change in the operation will result in reductions in inputs used and wastes generated or disposed, thus causing a beneficial effect on us and our environments (as well as on the bottom line).