Pollution prevention, or P2, is the act of using materials, processes, or practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants or waste at the source. Traditionally, most environmental protection has involved controlling, treating or cleaning up pollution that, in many cases, we continue to create. Pollution prevention aims at avoiding the production of waste in the first place. It includes practices that reduce the use of hazardous and non-hazardous materials, energy, water, or other resources as well as those that protect natural resources through conservation or more efficient use.

The Environmental Protection Agency has established an environmental management hierarchy that includes:

• elimination or prevention of wastes at the source, then
• recycling, then
• treatment, and then
• proper disposal or release 
  

Therefore your first choice for good waste management is always prevention. Once all of the prevention options have been exhausted, then we can turn to recycling, then treatment, and finally disposal. Or put another way, reduce first, then reuse and recycle. Pollution prevention should not be confused with pollution control. Pollution control includes activities that deal with the proper handling and disposal of waste after they have been generated. P2 is usually equivalent to "source reduction" or "waste minimization."