Benign by Design: Understanding Green Chemistry for Sustainable Solutions

"Benign by design," or "green chemistry," refer to creating processes or products that do not use---or result in---hazardous substances. This philosophy began with scientists in the early 1990s, according to Scientific American.

Reducing Hazards

• Inventions using green chemistry have decreased the use of dangerous chemicals by over one billion pounds in the past 15 years. Using hazardous substances involves increased costs of handling and disposing of them, so manufacturers have an economic interest in reducing their use of these substances, according to Scientific American.

Examples of Innovations

• Safer innovations have produced safer dry-cleaning processes, cleaning products, latex paints, household cleaning products, and fabrics made from cornstarch, according to Scientific American.

Controversy

• The immediate expenses involved in redesigning manufacturing processes and plants discourage many who otherwise support the goals of green chemistry. Whether governments should impose mandatory regulation for benign design on industries represents a controversial issue. However, without regulation, significant progress in pollution control and chemical hazards may not occur.