Waste minimization is a national policy that was first articulated by the U.S. Congress in the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Waste minimization as defined in HSWA means reduction of any solid or hazardous waste that is generated or subsequently treated, stored, or disposed of. It is generally agreed that waste minimization includes volume reduction, as well as reduction in the quantity of toxic constituents or of waste toxicity. Volume reduction is a less desirable goal than reduction in the quantity or toxicity or toxicity of wastes generated. Toxicity reduction may be achieved by a variety of methods, including chemical and thermal destruction. Reduction in the quantity of waste generated is usually achieved by measures applied at the source of waste generation, including manufacturing process modification, changes in raw materials, or recycling and reuse.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established an Office of Pollution Prevention to promote waste reduction. On February 26, 1991, EPA published a pollution prevention strategy aimed at providing guidance and direction for incorporating pollution prevention into EPA programs. The strategy calls for identifying and overcoming obstacles to prevention, expanding public involvement, establishing partnerships with other federal agencies, assisting state prevention programs, developing a training and education framework, encouraging prevention through regulations, permits, and enforcement actions, and advancing pollution prevention research and technology development.

EPA has incorporated the Pollution Prevention Act, signed into law in November 1990, into its pollution prevention program. The Act, among other things, requires EPA to establish a Source Reduction Clearinghouse, and requires industrial facilities which file toxic release forms under Section 313 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) to file an annual Toxic chemical source reduction and recycling report.

The concepts of waste minimization and waste reduction are inherently attractive environmental goals, and have achieved enthusiastic support at local, state, and national levels. There is also strong international support for such concepts. For example, Ontario, Canada has articulated a goal of waste minimization incorporating four elements: reduction, reuse, recycle, and recovery.

These elements are termed the "4Rs" of waste minimization, and regulations aim to promote one or more of the 4 Rs. The Science Advisory Board of EPA has recently stated that "We have learned that traditional end-of-pipe controls have tended to move pollution form one environmental medium to another, not eliminate it, the magnitude of (environmental) risks requires that we develop and maintain a national strategy that emphasizes (pollution) prevention?