DES MOINES — Five Iowa businesses have teamed with the Iowa DNR’s Pollution Prevention (P2) Intern Program this summer to increase the efficiency of their operations and reduce associated costs.
Upper-level engineering students work on-site at their assigned company to conduct in-depth assessments, analyze data, research pollution prevention strategies, and provide calculated recommendations. Companies utilize the data to make informed decisions and drive implementations that will help meet their environmental performance goals.
"Pollution Prevention or 'P2' is the process of going back up the pipe to identify the root cause of inefficiency and applying source-reduction strategies to reduce or eliminate waste in a process or system,” says Jeff Fiagle, Team Lead for the DNR’s P2 Services team. Technical advisers with the P2 Intern Program provide training and oversight to the interns seeking long-term solutions for the host companies to improve environmental performance and bolster profits.
Since 2001, more than 200 Iowa companies, hospitals, universities, and government agencies have teamed with the P2 Intern Program, accumulating more than $122.5 million in savings from using resources more efficiently and improving environmental performance.
The program has achieved remarkable environmental benefits, resulting in a reduction of:
- 6.5 billion gallons of water
- 286,763 tons of solid/special waste
- 10,493 tons of hazardous waste
- 518.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity
- 27 million therms of energy
Companies participating in the 2025 P2 Intern Program include (listed alphabetically by town):
- Des Moines: Kemin Industries
- Eddyville: Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc.
- Grinnell: Grinnell College
- Marshalltown: JBS USA, LLC
- Ottumwa: JBS Swift Pork
Funding for the P2 Intern Program comes from federal grants, portions of solid waste tonnage fees, and cost shares provided by the host companies.
Pollution Prevention Services offers confidential, non-regulatory technical assistance that includes assessments, infrared thermographic analysis, assistance in developing Environmental Management Systems, workshops, an equipment loan program, and access to an electronic library of technical resources.
These services are provided at no cost to assist companies in reducing expenses through source-reduction strategies, enhancing process efficiency, and minimizing or eliminating waste.
For more information on the Pollution Prevention Intern Program, visit: www.iowap2interns.com . Case summaries of the 2025 projects will be posted to this site in the fall.