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New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Program celebrates 30 years

Date: September 01, 2021

Pollution Prevention (P2) Week is September 20-24, 2021 and the New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Program is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

In 1990, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act, which charged EPA with establishing a national source reduction program to address the millions of tons of pollution the U.S. was producing. The following year, NHDES formed a state source reduction program and the New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Program (NHPPP) was born.

At its core, P2 is the act of reducing or eliminating waste at the source instead of treating the waste after it is generated.  Reducing waste not only protects the environment and public health, it saves money.

Over 30 years, New Hampshire has seen a lot of changes, but one thing has remained the same: the P2 Program still offers free, confidential, non-regulatory assistance to New Hampshire businesses, municipalities, public agencies, organizations and residents. The program has worked with hundreds of New Hampshire’s citizens, helping them save millions of dollars on everything from materials purchased to water and energy savings, and from hazardous and solid waste management to disposal costs. NHPPP provides assistance in the form of educational outreach, site assessments, technical research and compliance assistance.

Initially the program focused on helping companies and organizations manage solid and hazardous waste that is created as a result of their business processes, ensuring these wastes do not pollute the environment, but quickly the program evolved to a multimedia approach considering water, energy and air impacts. NHPPP has worked with many different types of businesses during its 30 years, such as dentist offices and schools, and is currently working with craft breweries and distilleries.

If you have questions or would like pollution prevention assistance, please email nhppp@des.nh.gov or call (603) 271-6460. For more information, visit the Pollution Prevention Program webpage.