Hazardous Wastes
We have had hazardous waste minimization programs in place for a number of years, which has resulted in significant reductions in the amount of hazardous waste generated at APS facilities. In earlier years, APS had specific hazardous- waste-reduction targets in place, which helped measure our progress in waste reduction. Our goal now is to maintain our hazardous wastes at the lowest possible level, recognizing that the majority of our hazardous wastes are episodic in nature and often the result of maintenance or upgrade projects rather than ongoing business operations.

All our facilities are now normally classified as Small Quantity Generators (SQG) or Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (CESQG) of hazardous waste, and in 2008 none of our facilities were classified as Large Quantity Generators of Hazardous Waste. In 2008, APS has continued to show good results in hazardous waste minimization, as shown in the chart below. All of our hazardous wastes are transported by permitted companies to EPA permitted hazardous-waste- disposal facilities located in the United States.

Non-hazardous Wastes
We have an aggressive waste reduction, recycling and reuse program in place at facilities across our organization.  Our first priority is waste reduction. Each facility reviews its waste streams and looks for opportunities to reduce waste.  Some of these activities include working with suppliers to reduce packing materials and pallets, substituting products, paper reduction in offices and other strategies to try to reduce wastes. Our second approach is an extensive program to recycle materials. Our Deer Valley Service Center serves as a central management point for many recycled materials.  As the chart below shows, APS recycles thousands of tons of materials each year. APS also has a very successful Investment Recovery department that manages surplus materials for reuse.

APS is a member of the EPA's WasteWise Partnership and Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2). WasteWise is a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program through which organizations work to minimize solid waste. C2P2 is a cooperative effort between the EPA and the Utility Solid Waste Activity Group (USWAG) to help promote the beneficial use of coal combustion products and the environmental benefits that can result. Each year, APS sends over 600,000 tons of coal combustion products for reuse, which results in significant benefits to the environment, including large reductions in overall CO2 emissions. In 2008, fly ash from our Four Corners power plant was used to make the concrete for a three-mile runway at Edward's Air Force Base for use by the space shuttle as well as other high-performance and experimental aerospace vehicles.

The incease in solid wastes in 2008 was due primarily to wastes from construction projects, rather than an increase in waste from operations.

CFL Recycling Program Developed for APS Customer in 2008
APS promotes the use of compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) to our customers as an excellent energy efficiency tool.  Since the APS Energy Star Residential Lighting Program began in mid-2005, seven million CFLs have been sold at more than 300 retail locations in Arizona that offer the CFLs at discounts. However, many of our customers had questions or concerns about disposing of CFLs. APS provided information about proper disposal and recycling options to our customers. To further assist our customers, in 2008 APS partnered with Ace Hardware and Veolia Environmental Service to develop the state's most comprehensive effort to collect and recycle CFLs, providing local consumers with the opportunity to safely dispons of and recycle expired CFLs. About 99 percent of the lights' components - glass, metal, plastic and mercury - first will be separated and eventually will be reborn as other products.

Used Nuclear Materials
Nuclear waste issues as discussed in the Generation section of this report.

Vendor Audits
The EHS Audit Group performs audits of all vendors that provide waste disposal, recycling activities and EHS services to company facilities. This program evaluates our vendors' facility operations, environmental management systems and financial strength in order to minimize short- and long-term liability caused by vendor actions or omissions. The audits also ensure that our waste materials are being properly managed once they leave our facilities. Thirty-five vendor audits were completed in 2008, including twenty audits of treatment, storage and disposal facilities, seven audits of recyclers, two  audits of laboratories, and five audits of EHS service providers and vendors.

Pinnacle West belongs to the Joint Utility Vendor Audit Consortium (JUVAC), CHWMEG Consortium and the Desert Utility Vendor Audit Team (DUVAT). The consortiums are made up of various organizations or partnerships that conduct vendor audits and make them available to their members. Participation in these consortiums helps to leverage auditing resources and performance.