Results for the destruction of environmental pollutants, using a novel multistage dielectric packed bed discharge plasma reactor (DPBD), carried out at an industrial scale flow rate of 300 L min(-1) are presented. Some initial results on the combination of a MnO2 catalyst with the system are also given. Complete destruction of toluene is seen for an initial concentration of 10 ppm at a deposited energy density of 23 J L-1 (0.006 kW h Nm(3-)). This is an order of magnitude better than previous values indicating high energy efficiency. No NOx, a previously common byproduct in plasma processing, can be detected.