Welcome to the TUHWR Clearinghouse, a web-based, searchable database that houses toxics use reduction and hazardous waste reduction implementation summaries required by the 2005 Toxics Use Reduction and Hazardous Waste Reduction Act. The information submitted includes real examples of how businesses reduced toxic chemicals and hazardous waste, saved money and lowered their regulatory burden through innovation. The Implementation Summaries are written by business people in their own words—with minimal editing - when a business is first eligible for the program. Businesses do not usually have to send changes or updates to DEQ after the first submittal; so you will see many of these implementation summaries are dated as far back as 2005.
For more than 25 years, DEQ has worked with Oregon businesses to eliminate toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes. Using pollution prevention and source reduction principles, DEQ’s TUHWR Program assists businesses to consider using fewer toxic chemicals, reconsider processes and practices, and examine ways to use the same materials repeatedly in existing processes.
For Oregon businesses in the program: Please verify your plan or environmental management system is current. Also, you have the option to enter any additional reduction successes into a Supplemental Implementation Summary.
- Click the ‘Search Data’ button.
- Under ‘Select Jurisdiction’ choose Department of Environmental Quality
- Under ‘Search By’ choose
Any Word and type ‘Implementation Summary’ (As other DEQ programs use this document repository, initially searching for ‘implementation summary’ will focus the search to only the TUHWR summaries.)
- Click ‘And’
- Under ‘Search By’ choose
Any Word again and type a specific word or phrase of interest. The summaries have Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability so may be searched on many different key words such as: Company name, NAICS Code, process name (e.g. plating, coating), Hazardous waste code (e.g. D001, F005), CAS Number, chemical name, city, county, etc. Add another ‘Search By’ criteria to narrow down your results.
- Click ‘Search’
To view the summaries:
- Click on the ‘Title’ or ‘Record Number’ link, then View/Download.
Pollution prevention
Preventing waste and pollution before they are generated makes more than just economic sense - recycling and environmental purchasing can boost employee morale, improve worker safety, and reduce liability.
There is no one “right way” to develop a program, but the objectives are clear: first reduce as much of your toxic use as you can, then reuse/recycle or replace.
Check out our Toxic Reduction and Safer Alternatives page for more information.