The wildlife response should minimise its own impact on the environment. Therefore some important environmental considerations must be taken into account.

Secondary pollution

A person who gets in contact with oil or with oiled animals will get polluted. A safe wildlife response prescribes the use of personal protective equipment, which may include a variety of clothing. While the responder avoids health risks, the protective clothing will get oiled. This is called secondary pollution. Another example is the responder who has been on an oily beach, but doesn't think of taking his boots off before leaving the area. In this way he spreads the pollution into so far unaffected areas.

By responding to oil pollution, new pollution - oily waste - is created. An important element in the training of oil spill responders is the education how to minimise secondary pollution, including the generation of oily waste. A responder must be aware of the options he has to minimise his personal footprint. The design of facilities, the routines and use of consumables and equipment within those facilities and on beaches further will offer multiple opportunities to minimise secondary pollution.

Damage to natural areas

Wildlife needs to be collected on the shorelines, many of which are natural areas. Responders may damage these natural areas just by entering them in search of casualties. For example, sensitive habitats such as salt marshes (or mangroves in the tropics), reedlands etc. could be damaged if responders would enter them to catch an oiled birds that is spotted. Even an oiled beach should be entered with care, in order to avoid bringing surface oil deeper into the sediment (walking or driving a fourwheel drive vehicle through the oil) from where it is much harder to be cleaned up.

Waste management

Oily waste (carton boxes used in animal transport, oily personal protection equipment, etc), waste water from the washing process, but also the oiled carcasses must be centrally collected and treated as oil polluted waste. Minimising this waste (see secondary pollution) is a key objective in the wildlife response.