| The purpose of this research is to identify the wastes that finish in landfills and can be recovered. The wastes under study are generated by a pharmaceutical industry dedicated to the production of medicines for the treatment of: cholesterol, allergies, hepatitis C in children and cerebral tumors. An additional objective of this investigation is provide to the pharmaceutical management the necessary information to prepare a procedure for the recovery of some of the waste generated by the industry and train the employees on the specific procedures for each waste recovered. The investigation has also the purpose of being used by other industries as a guide to establish policies and procedures for the recovery of resources in their facilities.;At the moment, at world-wide level and in Puerto Rico, a crisis with the handling of the solid wastes exists and in spite of the efforts made to reclaim raw material from the wastes, the problem continues being real. The characterization study has been conducted in a selected pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico. For this study were utilized three containers throughout the facility, Container A, B and C with capacity of 30.58 m3 and 6.12 m3 respectively. According to the study of characterization most of the solid wastes generated were cardboard, plastic, paper, aluminum and glass. The generation of wastes in the pharmaceutical industry is significant for the industry, the society and the environment.;This study considered several studies conducted regarding the amount of materials dumped in the landfills in Puerto Rico. Also, tendencies are analyzed of the wastes at world-wide level, the attitudes of the employees in terms of recovery of resources in the industry and the characterization performed to establish an inventory of those materials that can be reclaimed and do not arrive at the landfill. Through the questionnaire administration, a profile of the industry will be established in which the level of consciousness and understanding is examined in order to visualize the waste as a problem, the perception of the employees about the causes of the wastes and the attitude of the employees towards the program of recovery of resources. Through the characterization process, an inventory will be created with the purpose of identify the materials with the potential to be recovered from the origin to the distribution area. |
