Chemical Manufacturing Waste Management Trend
The following graph shows the quantities of TRI chemical waste managed through recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and disposal or other releases by the chemical manufacturing sector. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the “Releases only” graph.
From 2013 to 2022:
- Quantities of waste managed by the chemical manufacturing sector increased by 33%, while the sector’s value added (represented by the black line), as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Value Added by Industry, increased by 5%.
- The increase in waste RecyclingIncludes a variety of methods through which toxic chemicals in waste can be recovered, such as solvent recovery and metals recovery. To be reported as recycling under TRI, the chemicals or the waste containing the chemicals must undergo a recovery step prior to being used again, such as removing impurities from a solvent. The choice of the recycling method depends on the chemical. Once they have been recycled, these chemicals may be reused at the facility or made available for use in commerce. was driven by a few facilities. For example, the large increase in chemical waste recycled in 2014 compared to 2013 was primarily due to one petrochemical manufacturing facility that began reporting large quantities of on-site cumene recycling annually from 2014 to present.
- Quantities of TRI chemicals recycled, treated, and combusted for energy recovery increased, while the quantities of TRI chemicals released decreased.
From 2021 to 2022:
- Waste managed at chemical manufacturing facilities decreased by 875 million pounds (~5%).
- In 2022, facilities in this sector released 3% of their waste into the environment and managed the other 97% through treatment, energy recovery, and recycling.
The following graph shows the 10-year trend in quantities of TRI chemicals released by facilities in the chemical manufacturing sector.
From 2013 to 2022:
- Releases reported by chemical manufacturing facilities decreased by 13%.
- Quantities of on-site releases to all media decreased, as did off-site disposal.
From 2021 to 2022:
- Releases decreased by 53 million pounds (-10%), partly driven by one facility reporting a large decrease in off-site disposal of zinc compounds and another facility that changed its primary NAICS code (i.e., the facility previously reported as a chemical manufacturer but determined that chemical manufacturing did not account for most of its value added in 2022). Excluding these facilities, releases from chemical manufacturing still decreased.
- For 2022, one-third of the 3,430 chemical manufacturing facilities were in the basic chemicals manufacturing subsector, which accounted for almost half (49%) of the chemical manufacturing sector’s releases.
Pollution Prevention in the Chemical Manufacturing Sector
In 2022, 336 facilities in this sector initiated 864 pollution prevention activities. The most commonly reported types of pollution prevention activities were Process and Equipment Modifications and Operating Practices and Training. For example:
- A basic chemical manufacturer successfully piloted a new formulation that does not contain barium compounds, and will use the barium compound-free formulation for all future production of these products. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
- A pharmaceutical manufacturing facility substituted methanol with ethanol for several cleaning processes, reducing the amount of methanol managed as waste. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
Additional Resources on Pollution Prevention
- To find more examples of chemical manufacturers’ pollution prevention activities and the pollution prevention barriers they reported, visit TRI’s P2 Search Tool.
- EPA's Smart Sectors Program is partnering with chemical manufacturing trade associations to develop sensible approaches to industrial operations that better protect the environment and public health.
- For more information on how this and other industry sectors can choose safer chemicals, visit EPA’s Safer Choice Program.
- EPA supports the adoption of green chemistry and green engineering practices that reduce the environmental impacts from this sector, including reductions in the use of toxic chemicals, water, and electricity. For more information, see the TRI Green Chemistry and Green Engineering Reporting webpage.
- Facilities interested in exploring P2 opportunities or getting technical assistance can contact their regional P2 coordinator. Find the P2 coordinators for your state and region.
This page was published in March 2024 and uses the 2022 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2023.