If your company adopts a no-tanks policy, the main challenge is informing your suppliers and getting them to abide by it. A good first step is adding sealed containers to the list of items prohibited from entering your facility. Many scrapyards post a large sign at their entrance or scale that lists such taboo materials. Such a policy can have its repercussions, however. “When you impose a policy prohibiting sealed containers, suppliers may start hiding them from you, and then you can’t always find them,” says Bill Rouse, risk and environmental manager for PK Metals (Coram, N.Y.).
