Pressure indicators

Hazardous waste generated by the manufacturing industry

Manufacturing and mining industries are two cornerstones of the country’s economic development. However, they are also the most important generators of hazardous waste (OECD, 1998), far exceeding the production of biohazardous waste as well as waste from the application of pesticides and waste generated by micro- and small enterprises (Semarnat, 2003; Profepa Semarnat-2003). The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa, for its acronym in Spanish) has registered 42,400 industrial, commercial and services business that generate hazardous waste and are regulated under federal jurisdiction; they include potential emitters of air pollutants; generators of chemical hazardous waste, generators of biohazardous waste; industries performing high-risk activities and those that provide services related to hazardous waste management (Semarnat-Profepa, 2008).

The major industrial activities producing hazardous waste are the petrochemical, chemical, hazardous-waste services, oil, paints and inks, asbestos and motor car manufacturing (Semarnat-Profepa, 2003). The main hazardous waste generated by industry include acids, bases, solvents and chemical reagents, paint residues contaminated with heavy metals and toluene and benzene residues from the manufacture of leather products, among others (Masters, 1991). In this respect, the Physical production volume of the manufacturing and mining sectors serves as an indicator of potential hazardous waste generation by industry in Mexico. This indicator is expressed in terms of the index of physical production volume, which denotes the production’s economic value for a given economic activity; it is calculated by multiplying the physical production of goods by their economic value and then expressed in relation to a base year. Production levels were proposed by OECD as indirect pressure indicators on waste (OECD, 2008).

Intensity and volume of hazardous waste generation

The first estimates of the volume of hazardous waste generated in Mexico were conducted in 1994 by the National Ecology Institute (INE). Thereafter, figures reported have varied broadly, and have relied primarily on data reported by a set of companies that either generate or treat this type of waste. The indicators Intensity and volume of hazardous waste generation denote the potential pressure on the environment. It should be borne in mind, however, that environmental impacts will depend, to a large extent, on the conditions and characteristics of hazardous waste management. This indicator is calculated based on the data reported by companies included in the Registry of Hazardous Waste Generators (PGRP, for its acronym in Spanish) and registered by Semarnat (Semarnat, 2009); therefore, these figures do not represent the total volume of hazardous waste generated in Mexico, since they do not encompass  all the companies that produce this type of waste. This indicator is also included in the OECD’s Environmental Indicators and in the UN Commission for Sustainable Development’s Sustainable Development indicators of the.