March 06, 2014

EPA to Make Hazardous Waste Tracking Electronic

This week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency passed a new rule that will eliminate the use of paper for tracking hazardous waste in the United States. Instead, a system called e-Manifest will be used to track what types of hazardous waste are being transported through the country.

The e-Manifest is good news for the environment on a number of fronts. First of all, it will allow for a faster response in cases of spills and disasters, reducing the impact on ecosystems and communities. In addition, the elimination of paper will mean less paper waste produced by the government.

In addition to helping to better protect the planet, e-Manifest will also save between 300,000 to 700,000 of work time per year and save for more than $75 million. There is still work that needs to be done before the rule can be fully implemented and e-Manifest can be launched, so the EPA states that the system will not be up and running for at least another year.