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Non-alpha
- ABI (now called NatureServe)
- Association for Biodiversity Information.
Non-profit organization (see Directory » NatureServe)
- AMS
- Ambient Monitoring System. NC state government
- CAA
- Clean Air Act. US federal legislation.
- CERCLA (pronounced "serk-lah")
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
US federal legislation
- CCR
- Consumer Confidence Report. EPA, state and local government (water quality)
- Ceres
- The Roman goddess of fertility and agriculture.
See also CERES.
- CERES
- Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies. Non-governmental organization
(see also Ceres,
CERES Principles,
CERES Report,
Directory »
CERES)
- CERES Principles
(formerly called the Valdez Principles)
- A ten-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be
publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement
or ethic.
- Protection of the Biosphere
We will reduce and make continual progress toward
eliminating the release of any substance that may cause environmental
damage to the air, water, or the earth or its inhabitants. We will
safeguard all habitats affected by our operations and will protect
open spaces and wilderness, while preserving biodiversity.
- Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
We will make sustainable use of renewable natural
resources, such as water, soils and forests. We will conserve
non-renewable natural resources through efficient use and careful
planning.
- Reduction and Disposal of Wastes
We will reduce and where possible eliminate waste
through source reduction and recycling. All waste will be handled and
disposed of through safe and responsible methods.
- Energy Conservation
We will conserve energy and improve the energy
efficiency of our internal operations and of the goods and services we
sell. We will make every effort to use environmentally safe and
sustainable energy sources.
- Risk Reduction
We will strive to minimize the environmental,
health and safety risks to our employees and the communities in which
we operate through safe technologies, facilities and operating
procedures, and by being prepared for emergencies.
- Safe Products and Services
We will reduce and where possible eliminate the
use, manufacture or sale of products and services that cause
environmental damage or health or safety hazards. We will inform our
customers of the environmental impacts of our products or services and
try to correct unsafe use.
- Environmental Restoration
We will promptly and responsibly correct conditions
we have caused that endanger health, safety or the environment. To the
extent feasible, we will redress injuries we have caused to persons or
damage we have caused to the environment and will restore the
environment.
- Informing the Public
We will inform in a timely manner everyone who may
be affected by conditions caused by our company that might endanger
health, safety or the environment. We will regularly seek advice and
counsel through dialogue with persons in communities near our
facilities. We will not take any action against employees for
reporting dangerous incidents or conditions to management or to
appropriate authorities.
- Management Commitment
We will implement these Principles and sustain a
process that ensures that the Board of Directors and Chief Executive
Officer are fully informed about pertinent environmental issues and
are fully responsible for environmental policy. In selecting our Board
of Directors, we will consider demonstrated environmental commitment
as a factor.
- Audits and Reports
We will conduct an annual self-evaluation of our progress
in implementing these Principles. We will support the timely creation
of generally accepted environmental audit procedures. We will annually
complete the CERES Report, which will be made available to the
public.
See also CERES.
- CERES Report
- An annual environmental report that companies endorsing the
CERES Principles are expected
to complete. See also CERES.
- CWA
- Clean Water Act. US federal legislation
- DENR (pronounced "deener")
- Department of the Environment and Natural Resources. NC state government
- DO - Dissolved Oxygen - water quality
- DOE - Department of Energy - US federal government
- DOT - Department of Transportation - US federal government
- EPA - Environmental Protection Agency - US federal
government
- ESA - Endangered Species Act - US federal legislation
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
An independent agency of the United States federal
government that was created in 1970. EPA's mission»
is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural
environment - air, water, and land - upon which life depends.
EPA works closely with other federal agencies, state and local
governments, and Indian tribes to develop and enforce
regulations under existing environmental laws. EPA is
responsible for researching and setting national standards for a
variety of environmental programs and delegates to states and
tribes responsibility for issuing permits, and monitoring and
enforcing compliance. Where national standards are not met, EPA
can issue sanctions and take other steps to assist the states
and tribes in reaching the desired levels of environmental
quality. The Agency also works with industries and all levels of
government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention
programs and energy conservation efforts.
Source: EPA
- GAC - Granular Activated Carbon - water treatment
- GRI - Global Reporting Initiative - international non-governmental
organization
- HDPE- High Density Polyethylene - plastic (#2)
- LDPE - Low Density Polyethylene - plastic (#4)
- NAPCOR - National Association for PET Container Resources -
industry association
- NCBI - North Carolina Biotic Index - water quality
- NCDWQ - North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources - NC state government
- NGO - Non-Governmental Organization - common acronym
- NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System -
US federal government
- PET or PETE - Polyethylene Terephthalate - plastic (#1)
- PP - Polypropylene - plastic (#5)
- PS - Polystyrene - plastic (#6)
- PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride - plastic (#3)
- RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act -
US federal legislation
- pronounced "rick-rah"
- RO - Reverse Osmosis - water treatment
- SOC - Synthetic Organic Chemical - water treatment
- SPI - The Society of the Plastics Industry - industry assocation
- TDS - Total Dissolved Solids - water treatment
- Valdez Principles (now called CERES Principles)
- A ten-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be
publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement
or ethic. See CERES Principles.
- VOC
- Volatile Organic Compound - water treatment
- Wastewater treatment plant (now called Water Reclamation Facility)
- A facility where waste water is treated before being released back into the environment.
(Compare to Water Treatment Plant.)
- Water Reclamation Facility (formerly called Wastewater Treatment Plant)
- A facility where waste water is treated before being released back into the environment.
(Compare to Water Treatment Plant.)
- Water treatment plant
- A facility where drinking water is treated for distribution and use. (Compare to Wastewater Treatment Plant.)
- WET
- Whole Effluent Toxicity - water quality
- WRF
- Water Reclamation Facility. Water treatment term (see also Wastewater Treatment Plant)
- WTP
- Water Treatment Plant - water treatment
- WWTP
- Wastewater Treatment Plant - water treatment. See also Water Reclamation Facility
- Numbers on plastic containers
The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) introduced
its resin identification coding system in 1988 at the urging
of recyclers around the country. The SPI coding system offers a means of
identifying the resin content of bottles and containers commonly found
in the residential waste stream.
- #1 plastic recycling symbol (PET or PETE)
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE), a form of
polyester, is a clear and tough plastic. It is commonly used for soft
drink bottles and injection-molded consumer product containers because
it is inexpensive, lightweight, resealable, relatively impermeable to
gas and moisture, shatter-resistant and recyclable. PET is also used
for strapping, clothing, molding compounds, carpet yarns, fiberfill and
geotextiles. PET is formed by combining two monomers called modified
ethylene glycol and purified terephthalic acid.
Sources:
- #2 plastic recycling symbol (HDPE)
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a translucent, stiff
plastic. Commonly used to make milk, juice, and water bottles, HDPE
is also used for packaging detergents and bleach because it has good
barrier properties and chemical resistance. Pigmented HDPE bottles
generally have better stress crack and chemical resistance than
unpigmented ones. HDPE, also called linear polyethylene, is made made
from the monomer ethylene in a process called Ziegler-Natta
polymerization. HDPE is much stronger than LDPE (Low Density
Polyethylene, also called branched polyethylene), but is generally more
expensive and difficult to make.
Sources:
- #3 plastic recycling symbol (V)
Vinyl (V) includes Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) plastic which has
excellent chemical resistance, weatherability, and flow
characteristics, and stable electrical properties. PVC is used in rigid
applications such as bottles and packaging sheet, and flexible applications
such as pipes, carpet backing, windows, insulation, films, coatings and
tubings. PVC is produced by the free radical
polymerization of the monomer vinyl chloride.
Sources:
- #4 plastic recycling symbol (LDPE)
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
Source: The American Plastics Council's Plastics Packaging Resins»
- #5 plastic recycling symbol (PP)
Polypropylene (PP)
Source: The American Plastics Council's Plastics Packaging Resins»
- #6 plastic recycling symbol (PS)
Polystyrene (PS)
Source: The American Plastics Council's Plastics Packaging Resins»
- #7 plastic recycling symbol (Other)
Packages marked with number seven are made with a resin other
than the six listed above, or are made of more than one resin used in
combination.
Source: The American Plastics Council's Plastics Packaging Resins»
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