More and more companies (as well as homes) are converting lights to the LED bulb (LED stands for Light Emitting Diode) for their benefits. These light bulbs offer similar light with substantially less power, saving between 50-90% of
lighting energy costs. LED’s are extremely durable and require very little maintenance once installed. Although expensive, they also last a very long time
up to 12-25 years depending on use and therefore are considered more cost-effective over the full life cycle of an LED. LED’s have also been touted as superior to CFL’s because they last longer, are more efficient and don’t contain mercury. If a CFL breaks and the mercury is exposed it is considered a hazardous waste issue.
However, LED’s aren’t all good and have waste challenges. They do contain lead, arsenic and a few other s
ubstances known to be dangerous. They are not a health hazard in a home or office encased, but if they do break it is important to treat them like hazardous waste. Currently LED’s can be disposed of in regular landfills and are not considered hazardous waste legally. However, because of the toxic contents it is strongly recommended when disposing of LED’s to treat them similar to hazardous waste. (To learn more visit E-magazine article, Dark Side of LED Light bulbs)
For more information on LED lighting visit these websites;
LED Lighting Facts: A program of the U.S. Department of Energy that provides information on LED products and performance rating.
LED’s Magazine: A magazine dedicated to LED lighting information.
LED Journal: Provides an online resource guide, a buyer’s guide, industry directory and other resources on LED lighting.
Energy Efficient Lighting: LED reference information provided by EarthEasy, a green product online retailer, which provides basic information for the consumer including an overview of benefits, terminology, and how to choose an LED.
What would your life look like if you were plastic free? It is hard to imagine with all the plastic packaging and consumer goods that are in our daily lives.
Plastics are not good for us. They have filled up our landfills. The EPA estimates that over 12% of our current waste stream is made up of plastics and of that the largest category of materials is food containers and packaging. Plastics are now in our ocean and have created their own island called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And the health studies coming out about plastics, especially those that come into contact with food or beverage, have indicated initially they might be cancer-causing according to a Scientific America article. Although the plastics industry denies such reports it is understandable given that over 50% of industry’s revenues make up plastic packaging, according to the report, The Future of Plastics of Packaging.
A new trend is emerging to go plastic free. Essentially that means no product or good purchases that are made from or come in plastic packaging. If it sounds like this might be difficult, it is!
Here are a few resources that provide some tips and tricks on kicking the plastic habit!
My Plastic Free: A blogger who is blogging about how she is going plastic free. She is in the process of publishing a book called ‘Plastic Free’.
How We Tried to be Plastic Free: Rodale publishing did a blog in 2011 on attempts by their staff to be plastic free. A great idea for a company try to educate staff on plastic use.
Plastic-free Living Guide: Another blogger, Beth Terry, who also writes about her plastic free life.
Life Without Plastic: A site that provides products that are all plastic free to help those who want to rid plastic from their lives.
Life Less Plastic: A blogger, Jeanne Haegele who has been plastic free since 2007 and has her own journey described in her blog.
There has been a lot written about plastic lately. Not only is it harmful to the environment but overwhelming studies are finding plastic harmful to your health. Consider these facts;
Plastics production produces 14 percent of toxic air emissions in the U.S., and each plant emits an average of 300-500 gallons of contaminated wastewater per minute. (It’s Easy Being Green book)
100 million plastic bottles dumped in US every year. Each bottle will take over 1,000 years to biodegrade. (SIGG)
BPA (a plastic hardening agent prevalent in bottles, cups and lined tin cans) is so prevalent in food packaging and other consumer items that prior research has detected its presence in at least 90% of Americans. A group of 20 San Francisco residents had 66% less BPA in their urine after three days on a diet of fresh, organic and unpackaged food, scientists found. (Silent Spring Institute)
500 billion plastic bags or wraps are thrown away in America each year and are created with 12 million barrels of oil. (DropthePlasticBag.org)
Find out the facts about plastic for yourself with these resources;
Plastic Disclosure is a great website that offers facts and information about the harmful effects of plastic.
GreenBiz released this article a few weeks ago about the plastic use in corporations.
New York Times released this article on the issue of plastic and waste
If you want a more lighthearted approach, view the movie Bag It, that was released early in 2011. It discusses all the issues with plastic. For a review, go to this blog entry.
Energy management software is a way for companies to track energy usage and waste. This is a growing and changing market and industry with a large part of company’s sustainability strategies focusing on energy conservation.
Here are some resources and articles to learn more about energy management software:
An interesting blog post on Discovery News talks about the massive Garbage Patch located in the Pacific ocean that could be turned into an ‘recycled island’. Designed by Whim Architecture, the entire island would be floating and be made from all the plastic waste that is currently in the ocean. These innovative ideas to how to deal with the increasing waste stream is a start in the right direction. Check out their website, Recycled Island, that gives more details to the idea and concept.
Can your waste earn your company money? For some companies it has. Over the past four years, Kraft Foods employees reduced net waste from manufacturing plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels, exceeding a goal of a 15 percent reduction by 2011 which has lead to significant savings.
Sunny Delight laid out its zero waste goals in 2009. The company hoped to reach the goal by 2013, but has already achieved the goal at all six of manufacturing sites. Overall, the company’s plants delivered 63 percent less waste to landfills generating a net savings of $165,000 in 2009.
A study by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering found that about 93% of the material we buy and consume never end up in salable products at all. There is a lot of waste in manufacturing products which essentially is good money being thrown away.
Most offices have a janitorial or custodial vendor who cleans offices. It is important to have your vendors support your organizations sustainability program.To encourage ‘green’ cleaning ask your vendor for the following;
Use green cleaning supplies. Make sure cleaning supplies are non-toxic and eco-friendly. Seventh Generation and All Green have a great line of cleaning products.
Turn off lights. Ask your janitorial staff to turn off all lights upon leaving the building. This supports accountability with this simple energy saving action.
Provide recycling and waste data. In order to improve recycling and waste management it is important to get data from your janitorial staff on the usage of receptacles along with rate of recycling. Make sure your janitorial staff is managing waste responsibly.
Energy Efficiency- Residential, Energy Saving | eco-officiency May 22, 2012 | 
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