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EPA Signs Innnovative XL Agreement with IBM to Reuse Sludge

Release Date: 10/16/2000
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(#00186) New York, N.Y. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) together with the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) held a ceremony today to commemorate the signing of an agreement that would allow IBM’s East Fishkill facility in Hopewell Junction, New York to recycle a portion of its wastewater treatment sludge into cement. The agreement, part of EPA’s innovative Project XL program, excludes a portion of IBM’s sludge from federal and state hazardous waste requirements if certain conditions are met to ensure the continued protection of human health and the environment. IBM in turn will send the sludge to a cement kiln for beneficial reuse, thus conserving other raw cement materials as well as saving valuable landfill space. EPA’s Project XL (eXcellence and Leadership) is a national pilot program that allows state and local governments, businesses and federal facilities to develop innovative strategies with EPA to test better or more cost-effective ways of achieving environmental and public health protection. EPA has signed 47 Project XL agreements to date. "By removing the ‘hazardous waste’ label from the particular sludge produced at the IBM East Fishkill facility, this XL Project eliminates the barriers that have until now prevented the beneficial reuse of the sludge," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Regional Administrator. "Project XL provides a win-win situation for both the environment and companies that take the initiative to find more efficient and environmentally protective ways of doing business." The Project XL initiative in New York State reflects our commitment to continuing to find new ways to save money, eliminate needless paperwork and improve our efforts to protect the environment,@ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner John P. Cahill said. AIBM should be commended for taking on this innovative initiative, which will encourage recycling and help reduce the generation and disposal of hazardous waste." The sludge that will be recycled in this XL project is derived from electroplating wastewater treatment processes, and is thus designated as a hazardous waste. IBM’s sludge contains high concentrations of calcium (a necessary ingredient in cement production) and very low levels of hazardous elements, compared to levels found in similar cement raw ingredients. IBM will continue to test the sludge going for recycling to ensure that levels of hazardous constituents remain below set project parameters. It is estimated that IBM will send approximately 300 tons per year of sludge for recycling. Lessons learned from this XL Project may eventually be used by other industries with similar wastestreams throughout the nation, potentially opening up new avenues for further recycling efforts. The IBM Project XL will last for five years, after which time EPA, IBM and DEC may agree to extend it. This project will be implemented under a new federal and state rule - specific only to this IBM facility and its particular sludge - that will establish the exemption from certain hazardous waste requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA is the federal law that gives EPA the authority to regulate the generation, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes.