The idea underlying "pollution prevention" is that, rather than reduce pollution after it is created, businesses should avoid creation of pollution in the first place by using less polluting inputs and by changing production processes.
(a) One of the arguments for pollution prevention is that pollution is waste, and reducing waste should reduce costs. For instance, in some cases, businesses are able to recapture and make use of compounds that would otherwise have been emitted into the air or water. Why would a firm produce waste if it could make use of those compounds?
(b) In some cases, businesses have been able to reduce costs and increase profits through pollution prevention. One explanation is that the businesses were operating inefficiently before instituting pollution prevention. Are there any other explanations?