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Toxic Chemicals
hazardous waste streams may be generated, and P2 opportunities may be lost. This
program ensures that these opportunities are utilized.
COMPANY EXAMPLES
Some examples of where manufacturers installed upgrades to their manufacturing
processes to achieve a reduction in their use of toxic chemicals under the Lean and
the Environment program are presented in Table  14.1. The table also shows cost
reductions that have been realized by companies participating in the program.
NEW JERSEY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The New Jersey Technical Assistance Program (NJTAP) was founded in 1990
and is currently implemented through the New Jersey Program for Manufacturing
Excellence (NJME), a component of the Center for Advanced Energy Systems
(CAES) at Rutgers University. NJME provides free technical assistance services to
industries participating in the New Jersey P2 program. Services provided include
manufacturing plant assessments that identify energy efficiency, P2, and waste
minimization opportunities as well as workshops or seminars on various P2 topics ,
such as energy efficiency, and training on how to complete the mandated New
Jersey P2 plans that are required to be submitted to the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Regulation Office of Pollution Prevention (NJ DEP OPP).
The NJME conducts on-site assessments for approximately 20 facilities each
year. The assessments are performed by two experienced engineers and up to three
well-trained undergraduate or graduate students. During the on-site assessments,
opportunities to save energy, minimize waste, prevent pollution, and improve productivity are identified.
BASIS FOR PROGRAM
The establishment of the NJTAP was based on prescriptive legislation, the New
Jersey Pollution Prevention Act, which was passed by New Jersey lawmakers in
1991. When New Jersey lawmakers created the New Jersey P2 Act, they purposely
incorporated a technical assistance component into the act. This technical assistance
program was not to be implemented by the NJ DEP OPP but by a nonregulatory institution that would be able to provide innovative and creative P2 solutions to industries
seeking assistance with toxics reductions and P2 at their facilities. The lawmakers
also specified the amount of funding, $200,000, that would be provided annually for
the technical assistance program. Under the NJ P2 Act, the program was originally
carried out by the Hazardous Substance Management Research Center at the New
Jersey Institute of Technology. Since 2002, the program has being executed out of
the NJME at Rutgers University.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Although the NJME tries to focus its efforts on small-to-medium facilities, all
manufacturing facilities in New Jersey are eligible, with priority given to TRI