Pollution Control
Pollution control systems to reduce waste volume or toxicity are a necessity to manage wastes that cannot
be prevented or exchanged. The relationship to the higher concepts is one of “last resort.” Pollution control
requires high capital and operating costs, and there are numerous risks associated with system failures
and the use of treatment chemicals. Pollution control options should be considered only after all the higher
level concepts have been thoroughly investigated. Compared to the cost of buying, installing and operating
pollution control systems, improving production processes and other cleaner production strategies may be
quite affordable and of course they also usually provide a return on investment. In contrast, pollution control
always remains an operating cost with no payback.