What are waste reduction or waste minimization loans?
These loans are primarily for commercial businesses and manufacturers that need low-cost, long-term financing to make improvements in systems and processes to reduce the volume or toxicity of wastes. Examples of projects that could be financed include: • renewing or recovering solvents, chemicals or abrasives for further on-site use; • modifying a process to require fewer or less toxic solvents; • conversion to reusable or low volume packing or shipping materials; • controlling inventory to reduce waste; • producing new or additional products from the current waste stream; and • reducing the volume of mixed waste by separating hazardous components. To calculate the amount of financing available divide the cost of the project by the total annual dollar savings in energy bills, disposal costs, permit fees, replacement materials purchased, and operations and maintenance costs. The simple payback for the loan cannot exceed ten years or the expected useful life of the equipment. Form 36 has
