When you recycle your toner cartridge, you preserve the environment while lessening the toll of printing costs on your pocketbook as well.

Reusing, Recycling, and Using Self-Refill Kits

These days, throwing your toner cartridge in the trash is not just a waste; it’s like throwing money away while unnecessarily filling landfills at the same time.

The best alternative to throwing your toner cartridges out is to recharge them with new toner.

Manufacturers can also replace the drums and other important parts of the cartridge.

Some retail shops accept trade-ins for spent toner cartridges, when you purchase a new one from them. These cartridges are then refilled so that they can be sold at discounted prices. Self-refill kits are also available.

Depending on the type of toner cartridge you use, there are many different refill kits available. These kits make recycling toner cartridges simple and cheap.

Most refill kits come with instructions, and the toner is contained inside a plastic bottle. You won’t need any special tools other than a smoldering iron.

How to Recycle Your Own Toner Cartridge

Here are four basic steps you can take to recycle your own toner cartridge:

1. Remove the toner cartridge from the printer.
2. Using the soldering iron, carefully burn a small hole into the cartridge casing, without damaging the casing. Do not employ a drill to create the hole, as it can cause miniscule pieces of plastic to fall inside the cartridge’s chamber.
3. Pour the toner in through the fill-hole. Note that manufacturers recommend not filling the chamber completely, especially if a cartridge has been used multiple times.
4. Seal the hole with tape once you’ve poured the appropriate amount of toner into the cartridge.
5. Take care when handling the toner, as it can damage clothing, furniture, the carpet, etc. Further, many toners are hazardous; take necessary precautions by wearing gloves, and keep the toner out of reach of children.

Due to their non-biodegradable nature, most toner cartridges end up in landfills.  But if you recycle your toner cartridges, or buy re-manufactured ones, you can help eliminate waste and save on landfill space.  And that saves on disposal costs as well. Purchasing re-manufactured toner cartridges, on the other hand, allows you to avoid messes. These are available from your local office supply, and at specialty stores.

Additionally, some retailers, upon delivering your newly purchased re-manufactured cartridges, will pick up your old toner cartridges. Over the last few years, toner cartridge re-manufacturers have improved their technology to the extent that their quality can meet the manufacturer’s OEM standards. And what’s more, most re-manufactured cartridges provide good quality prints, coupled with a low occurrence of malfunction and leakage.

A DIY Recycling Project

This simple DIY recycling project can be used for educational purposes, as a school or class activity for kids, or when you really do want to recycle your own paper.

It serves as a good demonstration of how recycling works, and anyone who has gone through with this process is likely to think twice in the future, before discarding waste paper into the wrong basket.

While I doubt that any resources were really saved in this video (the energy and materials consumed by the process probably far outweigh the value of a couple of sheets of paper), it serves an educational purpose.

It also demonstrates another important fact – recycling itself, as a process, consumes energy and resources.  The fact that one is going to recycle certain waste doesn’t mean that no waste management is necessary at all.

Recycling may be better than filling a landfill, but when all is said and done, the less excessive garbage produced, the better.

There is no need for old, replaced, or even obsolete electronics to go to waste.  It can be reused, repurposed, or recycled, and in more ways than one.

This very amusing video will make you think twice the next time you’re about to toss your 1980s walkman or you 2007 computer; and will give you some ideas on how to better approach the issue.

When we think of pumpkins, we think of Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, pumpkin pie, and maybe Thanksgiving.

But, truth be told, there are plenty of ways to use a pumpkin!

During October, pumpkins are abundant.  Sometimes, too abundant.  And it’s not uncommon to see excess pumpkins cast aside or left to rot after Halloween, but there’s really no need to let the extras go to waste.

The following are just a few of the great uses for pumpkins:

1. Pumpkins in Recipes

As food, pumpkins are low in calories, yet high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, protein, and potassium.  Dig out your favorite cookbook and search for recipes containing pumpkin.

Pumpkin bread, pies, and muffins are favorites, but you can probably find plenty of others.  As an impromptu house guest in Paris, I was once served an incredible pumpkin soup (though I never completed my search for that recipe).  There are more exotic recipes to try as well – pumpkin juice, pumpkin ice cream, and even fried pumpkin.

2. Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds (also called “pepitas”) are also known to be highly nutritious, and are used in weight-loss diets.  They provide fiber, healthy fats, and protein, as well as minerals such as magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron, and copper.  They are also known to strengthen the immune system, and to be good for people with high cholesterol.

Roasted pumpkin seeds make excellent between-meals snacks, can be sprinkled over a holiday squash soup, and are a favorite in Mexican cooking.  Candied pumpkin seeds are great for parties as well – and even the children might accept them among their Halloween candy.

3. Pumpkin for Pets

Mashed pumpkin is a great remedy for digestive trouble in dogs.  It can be used to combat weight gain or diarrhea, and for resistance to infections.  It is also said to be good for a dog’s night vision and general health.

Simply add a few spoons of cooked, mashed pumpkin to the dog’s food.  (Important: it must be pure mashed pumpkin, not a mix!)  For instructions on how to create your own mashed pumpkin, see #4 below.

Cats may like pumpkin as well, and it can be given to help cats with similar digestive troubles, as well as hairballs.

Remember, if your pet is sick, take him to the vet!  And ask your vet about using pumpkin as a home remedy.

4. Saving Pumpkins for Later

If you have more pumpkin than you know what to do with, you can save it for later use in recipes and for winter holidays.

There are several ways to create pumpkin puree which can be frozen for later use.  The following are three preparation methods:

1.  Baking – Cut the pumpkin in half, place it on a baking sheet with the flat side down, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for about an hour, or until it is tender when tested with a fork.

2.  Microwave – Follow the same procedure as above, but instead of placing the pumpkin in an oven, microwave it on high for about 15 minutes, or until it is tender.

3.  Boiling – Cut the pumpkin into large chunks and rinse.  Then, place the chunks in a large pot, cover with water (fully immersing the pumpkins, plus one inch of water on top), and boil until tender.

Once you have utilized one of the above methods to soften the pumpkin, cool it off, peel it, and mash it in a food processor.  You can also use a potato masher or similar device.

Then, simply seal the puree into zip lock bags, or whatever is convenient, and freeze it for for the winter.  The puree can be used as a substitute for canned pumpkin, in any recipe.

5. Pumpkins as Dishes

You can clean a pumpkin well, cut it in half, and dry it for use as a serving bowl or flower vase. You can also use a halved pumpkin to cook or bake other foods in.  For more information, see How to Carve a Pumpkin Bowl.

6. Pumpkins for the Skin

Pumpkins contain anti-oxidants and alpha-hydroxy, which are said to be good for the skin.  You can use pumpkin peels as a facial, to combat aging or other skin problems.

7. Pumpkins for Children and Games

You can use pumpkins for children’s drawing or carving contests.  If your kids are too little to start carving yet, they can also decorate pumpkins with markers or paint – or even a pumpkin collage.  Another use of pumpkins is as targets for archery practice.

But we definitely don’t recommend any games that involve throwing pumpkins, nor using them as substitutes for soccer balls.

And, possibly even better, how about a cross between a Jack-O-Lantern, a Snow Man, and a Scare Crow?  Your kids might have a great time making a pumpkin man – and it’s much better for them than watching TV.

8. Pumpkins as Ornaments

Pumpkins, gourds, and squash can be used to create candle holders, Thanksgiving centerpieces, and other ornaments.

9. Musical Pumpkins

Yes, that’s right, pumpkins make great musical instruments as well.  Or, at least they can if you know how to make (and play) them.  You can see and hear a variety of ideas for instruments that can be made from gourds, squashes, and pumpkins. Although many instruments are made from gourds, one can easily imagine how a large or small pumpkin would do just as well in several cases.

10. Pumpkins for Crafts

If you are an experienced craftsman or devout hobbyist, you might try some more advanced and creative uses of pumpkins.  You can make pumpkin leather like the American Indians did, or settle witih a simple pumpkin bird house.

As you can see, there’s really no need for pumpkins to go to waste, either before Halloween or afterwards.

During economic recessions, it’s not uncommon that people have more time on their hands than they have money.  Instead of letting extra pumpkins go to waste, these are a few ways you can stretch your grocery budget a bit further, invest some time in your health, get your kids away from the screen, and have some fun at the same time.

All of this hype about “green” business can easily exhaust even the most dedicated environmentalists. “Green”, “eco-friendly”, and other environmental buzzwords were not in the lexicon of the average citizen until a couple years ago. In light of this fact, it’s no surprise that many businesses are incorporating these words and phrases into their products’ messages. “Green” has changed from an occasionally used word to a must have for many companies. Words are just the tip of the iceberg however. “Green” business practices have infiltrated all aspects of business and those truly dedicated are reaping big rewards.

A study published by Retail Systems Research (RSR), sponsored by Intel and the Retail Industry Leaders Association explains the benefits for those companies who are incorporating environmentally-friendly practices into all aspects of their business. As the report states, “green is rapidly creating a strategic advantage in ALL corners of the enterprise, and has become a major component of the planning for any new IT investment.”

According to the study, cost reduction is still the primary motivator for all of the companies surveyed, but those companies referred to as “Retail Winners” (retailers whose sales are already outperforming their competitors and grew by more than the industry-average 3 percent annually) are equally focused on the brand-building potential of eco-friendly strategies.

Retail winners are contrasted with “laggards,” companies who are generally underperforming. Retail winners:

“recognize that customers expect them to act more so than do their underperforming competitors, are more interested in lowering their carbon footprint, and are much more in tune with creating the image that they ‘care.’ They associate environmentally sound practices with their Brand image to consumers and the industry, and associate these practices with their ethical responsibility to the community in anticipation of stealing market share as the customer’s green demands grow.”

As the study makes clear, “green” can no longer be considered a fad. Let’s look at some of the statistics cited by the study:

• Last year, 53% of overall respondents identified the store energy costs as a challenge that could benefit from a green overhaul.
• This year 92% of all the electricity required to run a retail store’s POS systems, overhead lighting, backroom systems, mobile/handheld devices, signage, security systems ‐ not to mention the energy costs of heating, air conditioning, water, and refrigeration, where needed – has come into focus.
• 48% of surveyed companies consider “green initiatives” currently as strategic initiatives for their enterprise.
• Retail Winners are motivated more by ethical obligation, industry image, and brand identity than the average company surveyed.

So what does all this mean?

It seems that in just a couple of years the tide has turned in favor of “green” business practices. Although the survey was largely of North American companies, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that a new environmental consciousness has taken hold in the international business world. Question after question asked to companies in the RSR study shows that companies genuinely invested in reducing their environmental impact consistently report better earnings and performance.

At the same time Retail Winners are doing better financially by implementing green initiatives, they are also expanding the scope of their green practices in areas of business that were not previously considered for green improvements, such as IT, logistics, supply chains, and packaging.

I think it is fair to say that “green” business practices are finally winning the uphill battle against traditionally wasteful and inefficient practices.

For more information about “green” practices and their advantage for companies, go to Retailsystemsresearch.com.

It wasn’t too long ago when CFL bulbs were all the rage. Even though they contain small amounts of mercury, they were and are still one of the easiest ways to reduce energy consumption. According to the EPA, if every American home replaced just one incandescent bulb with a CFL, Americans would save enough energy to light 3 million homes, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. Federal legislation passed in 2007 effectively banned incandescent bulbs after 2014. It seems that the CFL bulb has won the battle against the mighty, yet now antique incandescent bulb, but is there another battle looming on the horizon? CFL bulbs are still the darling of many in the environmental movement, but is there honeymoon nearing an end?

The competitor is the LED, or light-emitting diode, which was first conceived in Russia in the 1920’s, but are only now beginning to be available for a variety of business and residential applications. Although LEDs have their own problems that need to be worked out, they have some clear advantages over CFLs. First, they don’t contain any mercury. Second, the light they emit is more similar to incandescent bulbs than CFLs, which is usually a plus to most consumers. Third, on average, they use less energy than a CFL and can last up to twenty years. And fourth, they can be used in large scale applications where CFL installation is difficult. Simply put, as Energy Star states, “LED lighting is more efficient, durable, versatile and longer lasting than incandescent and fluorescents lighting.”

On top of all that, recent studies have confirmed that the production process for LEDs uses less energy than production of CFLs, which seems to tip the argument undeniably in favor of LEDS… except for the fact that they can cost anywhere from $5-50.  LEDs seem to be in the same debacle that CFLs were a decade ago. They are incredibly expensive, but the amount of energy they save is enormous, even compared to CFL’s advantage over incandescent bulbs.

A recent New York Times article highlights the advantages of LEDs for large-scale business applications. Sentry Equipment Corporation in Oconomowoc, Wis., was in the process of lighting one of their new factories last year and eventually chose LEDs for the majority of their outside and inside lighting. Although Sentry spent $18,000 total, $12,000 more than they would have with traditional lighting, they save $7,000 a year in lighting costs, which will have a return of investment in just two years.

Not everyone is convinced that LEDs will dominate the lighting market in the future. In the same New York Times article, Mark Rea, director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said, “L.E.D.’s will gain dominance in downlighting, outdoor and track lighting… I do not see a major step toward change in general illumination without transforming the infrastructure. To say L.E.D.’s will change everything, I don’t buy it. I think a lot of it is hype.”

Regardless of whether LEDs will dominate the market, it is clear that businesses and municipalities interested in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and cutting costs at the same time will be on the lookout for LED technology. It seems unlikely that LEDs will be a huge presence in the residential lighting market, but who knows what future technological advances will bring.

For more information on how you and/or your business can benefit from LED lighting, check out Energy Star’s guide to the LED.

Transparency is not always the business world’s strong point. Year after year the news is filled with stories of companies who hid harmful ingredients from consumers and downplayed the seriousness of their harmful environmental impact. One thing can be generally surmised from these types of events. Those companies that are genuinely committed to reducing their environmental impact are transparent, those who are not, are not transparent. It is almost as simple as that.

Companies who are committed the learning about and reducing their environmental impact tend to write a annual sustainability report, an honest account of the companies’ relation to the environment. If a business or company has yet to write a sustainability report though, where can they find information?

The Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) section on sustainability reports includes links to reports from Ford, IBM, UPS, and more, all huge international companies by any standard. For any company interested in creating a sustainability report, this is a good starting place to get an idea of what the reports entail, but it is important to realize that any size business committed to reducing their environmental impact can greatly benefit from a yearly sustainability report. The NRDC also provides an “Additional Resources” section that is full of useful links, including one that offers templates for sustainability reports.

What are the benefits of an annual sustainability report?

The benefits are two-fold. In a time when consumers are becoming more conscious of the products they purchase, businesses are coming under increased pressure to confront the environmental impact of their products. Sustainability reports are the best way to communicate the environmental achievements, challenges, and goals to the public. Many businesses have chosen to do this through marketing, but consumers often view this suspiciously. If a business is truly committed to reducing their environmental impact, they will not go to huge ends to market it as such. Transparency is key for consumer trust and sustainability reports are the best way to communicate your commitment to it.

An extensive sustainability report includes summaries of the environmental impact of all aspects of business. Many businesses choose to meld their corporate responsibility reports with sustainability reports, which I think is naturally a good idea. The well-being of your employees is often linked to the success and sustainability of your business. A company that approaches these areas holistically will be better off in the end.

Regardless of consumer opinion, sustainability reports offer a relatively easy and affordable way to focus, organize, and document your business’s environmental record. For smaller businesses with simple supply chains and fewer employees, the reports do not have to be complex, but they should tackle all aspects of the business. Reports should also include sustainability goals.

The NRDC manual sums it up well:

“Publishing a sustainability report takes time and effort, but it helps keep track of your supply chain impacts and costs. It’s also a useful way to declare your company’s commitment to sustainability and to track and report environmental improvements each year. Sustainability reports let employees, suppliers and the public know that your business is serious about documenting environmental improvements.”

Not all sustainability reports are created equal, however. Ceres, a network of investors, environmental organizations, and public interest groups gives awards for best sustainability reports each year. According to their website, “The awards are not intended to endorse or reward company performance, but rather to acknowledge exemplary disclosure that places performance in the broader context of sustainability challenges, risks and opportunities.” They judge each report by completeness (40%), credibility (35%), and communication (25%).

It is doubtful that businesses will ever be required to have yearly sustainability reports, but stricter financial and environmental legislation for all areas of business will be a reality in the near future. With this in mind, it would be wise for all businesses to begin writing a yearly sustainability report.

For more information, go to the NRDC’s sustainability report section of their website: http://www.nrdc.org/enterprise/greeningadvisor/gpp-reports.asp

The standard news from the business world is not always encouraging. Scandals seem to be more common than not and the current climate of Madoff’s and Exxon Mobil’s isn’t helping. But as we all know, honest businesses do exist, especially in the green sector and many of them are great examples of how to grow your business while staying true to social responsibility and environmental values.

One of these companies is Seventh Generation. The company describes themselves as “the world’s most trusted brand of authentic, safe, and environmentally-responsible products for a healthy home.” When you learn more about the company, it’s hard to argue with this claim. The company’s name and philosophy is derived from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

Transparency is the first sign that a company is genuinely invested in and concerned about their social responsibility and environmental impacts. If a company produces an annual social responsibility report (SRR) and sustainable report (SR) then you know they have at least taken the time to think about the issues. It does not guarantee they genuinely care about environmental issues, but it is generally a sign they are headed in the right direction.

Seventh Generation writes a yearly “Corporate Consciousness Report,” an in-depth and honest look into all of the activities of the company. The report outlines sales, giving, employees, carbon footprint, transportation-related GHG emissions, packaging, manufacturing partners, sourcing, product design, and green workplace. The report also provides a section at the beginning outlining the achievements (environmental or not) of the previous year. One of 2008’s biggest successes was Seventh Generation’s purchase of sustainable palm oil credits and participation in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Palm oil is a major component in many of their most popular cleaning products.

So you are probably wondering, what is so great about Seventh Generation’s products?

According to their website, Seventh Generation name-brand products include non-chlorine bleached, 100% recycled paper towels, bathroom and facial tissues, and napkins; non-toxic, phosphate-free cleaning, dish and laundry products; plastic trash bags made from recycled plastic; chlorine-free baby diapers, training pants, and baby wipes; and chlorine-free feminine care products, including organic cotton tampons.

Unlike nearly all other companies in the cleaning products business, Seventh Generation discloses all of their ingredients and explains what each does on all the products they sell. There are no laws requiring them to do so, but they are working hard to turn those laws into reality by lobbying.

In the last couple of years, Seventh Generation has not only made their own business more sustainable, but assisted manufacturers in their supply chain. In 2008 they held Manufacturing Partner Sustainability Summit, one of the first of its kind, which helps businesses in their supply chain become more socially responsible and environmentally-friendly.

They also donate 10% of their pre-tax profits to non-profit community, environmental, health, and responsible business organizations working for positive change. This is a huge percentage compared to most other companies, even those in the green sector.

On top of all that, Seventh Generation also has a climate action plan, which the company says will reduce their GHG emissions by 80% by 2050 (normalized to sales). They adopted this before many countries had even considered it.

I have really only scratched the service of Seventh Generation’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, but it is clear that they are a model for businesses of all sizes. They are not perfect, but they are making progress and are genuinely concerned about their environmental and social impact. In 30 years, if I had to bet, Seventh Generation will be one of largest household products companies, beating out Clorox by a long shot.

The first time I heard of the phrase Cradle to Cradle (C2C) was when a friend told me take a bath with a book called Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. The reason for the bath and the book at the same time? The book is printed on synthetic ‘paper,’ made from plastic resins and inorganic filters, and is designed to “look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged.” The book can be recycled in all areas where polypropylene (think yogurt containers) recycling is available and can be reused for a lifetime, barring any contact with fire or radioactive materials.

I quickly became intrigued with the book and plowed my way through it. The ideal behind Cradle to Cradle design is that of the design of the book: use, recycle, reuse. C2C is the anti-thesis of single-use throw away design that dominated American capitalism in the last half of the 20th century. It is a relatively new idea—simple in conception, difficult in reality—that is creating quite the buzz throughout the “green” industry.

The current buzz from C2C is the result of Michael Braungart and William McDonough, the authors of the previously mentioned book. Although others conceived of the idea before them, they are largely responsible for the recent popularization of the term. Their book is the first manifesto of the C2C movement and an excellent introduction to this revolutionary school of design.

Cradle-to-cradle products, as opposed to cradle-to-grave products, are designed and produced to be “perpetually circulated in a closed loop,” thus maximizing their value while simultaneously reducing damage to ecosystems. C2C seeks to eliminate “waste” altogether.

The language of C2C design can be complex, but understanding only a few terms will give you a basic understanding of the philosophy. Braungart and McDonough split up all materials into two categories: technical and biological nutrients. A biological nutrient is “a biodegradable material posing no immediate or eventual hazard to living systems that can be used for human purposes and can safely return to the environment to feed environmental processes,” while a technical nutrient is “a material that remains in a closed-loop system of manufacture, reuse, and recovery (the technical metabolism), maintaining its value through many product life cycles.”

In an ideal world, Braungart and McDonough would like to see products solely designed by C2C protocols and entirely composed of either biological or technical nutrients. This would ensure a truly sustainable economy, one that not only reduces resource use in the present, but also guarantees those resources’ health in the future.

Unfortunately this ideal world does not exist and probably never will, but Braungart and McDonough have conceived a ‘C2C Certification’ that rates nearly any type of human product: consumer items, buildings, cities, social systems, and more. Although the certification system was initially slow in gaining traction, entire cities in China could become certified in the near future.

According to Braungart and McDonough’s company website, C2C certification “provides a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality… This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility.”

Hundreds of products have become C2C-certified and more are in the process. To learn more about certification, check out the site, which gives an overview of the certification process and the requirements to become certified.

C2C design is incredibly important as the United States and the world transitions into a clean energy and green economy. Simply reducing consumption and building renewable energy projects is not enough because it is not genuinely sustainable for the future. Concentrating on creating processes and products that do away with consumption altogether is what C2C is about and that is the model the new economy needs.

The relationship between small businesses and the government is not always ideal. There is a constant tug-and-pull concerning taxes and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels and both sides never seem to be satisfied. However, the government does provide some excellent resources for small business owners, especially those focused on sustainability. Business.gov’s green section offers a plethora of advice, guides, and general resources for all types of green issues. Before delving into those details though, let me tell you a little about what Business.gov does.

According to their mission statement:

Business.gov saves small businesses time and money by providing access to Federal, state and local resources from a single website, making government more transparent and accessible. Small business owners no longer need to visit multiple websites to find government programs, forms, contacts, and guidance with laws and regulations.

If you have yet to start a business, but are leaning towards starting one in the green business sector, check out “Starting a Green Business” section. The section includes a number of brief, yet informative tips for new green businesses, as well as links to other important areas of the guide.

The great thing about Business.gov’s green business guide is that it lets you delve as deep into it as you want. If you are looking for simple and general green business tips, they offer a list of ten to start you out:

1.    Comply with environmental regulations
2.    Develop an environmental management plan
3.    Build green
4.    Buy Green Products
5.    Adopt Energy Efficient Practices
6.    Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Wastes
7.    Conserve Water
8.    Prevent Pollution
9.    Create a green marketing strategy
10.    Join industry partnership and stewardship groups

Each tip has a distinct section that can be worked on entirely separate from the others. If you are focusing on building “green” and implementing energy efficiency changes, the website offers a near comprehensive guide that includes general suggestions, cost-savings calculator, and links to local and federal tax credit/grant programs that can assist you with the cost of efficiency improvements, among other things.

The green marketing guide contains a number of excellent resources as well. From green marketing regulations and ecolabel tips to certifications and market research about “environmental literacy,” this section is one of the best free resources for green marketing available.

Small green businesses are not likely to generate toxic or hazardous waste, but it is wise for all owners of small businesses to review regulations and advice about all types of waste. The ‘Pollution Prevention’ section includes a wide variety of resources about waste disposal, including a guide about conducting a waste assessment and links to useful EPA resources.

If you and your business are based in the west or southwest United States, water is likely a precious resource. The website includes an extensive ‘Water Conservation Guide’ that seems to be the best overall guide on the entire website. The guide includes resources about water saving measures inside of your business’ buildings, as well as things you can do outside of your building. There are also links to a number of more comprehensive guides, as well as a link to the Colorado Springs’ Xeriscape website, which is a great water-friendly landscaping resource for all businesses in the southwest and western United States.

If you own or work at a small business and do not know where to start or how to make sustainable changes to your business, check out Business.gov’s green business section. You will not be disappointed!