It's time for businesses to embrace eco-friendly practices to match those of individuals at home

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With more and more individuals and families adopting a greener attitude to garbage, many businesses are also looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment and cut down on their own waste. Locally, both small and large businesses can get started on going green by contacting Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Corporation.

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Switching to laptop computers, which use less energy, is one way some businesses are going green.

"When businesses are interested in going green we provide them with a presentation to educate them on our facility and how they can make a major contribution to their community by participating in the Wet/Dry Program," says Laura Brown, Public Relations Coordinator for the Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Corporation.

Many businesses aren't aware of the amount of waste they generate in the run of a year or where to begin on reducing that amount.

"We can perform a waste audit to determine what can be recycled or composted from the waste that is being landfilled," says Laura. "We will help them with the implementation of the Wet/Dry Program by providing them with educational tools, promotional items and assisting them in the education of their entire facility large or small."

"Both small and large businesses have an impact on the environment," continues Laura. "In the year 2007, 68,613.76 tonnes of waste was sent to the landfill from the Industrial, Commercial & Institutional sector alone. The more businesses that start using the Wet/Dry Program the more waste we can divert from the landfill."

Cutting down on waste and making sure the waste produced by your business not only helps the environment, but can also help with a businesses bottom line. Being more energy efficient and more aware of using products that produce less waste and last longer are win-win options for all businesses.

"More businesses are buying into going green," says Laura. "There have been many businesses contact us to provide them with tours of our facility so they can see how the waste is actually separated. Other businesses are already participating in the Wet/Dry Program or are in the process of going Wet/Dry.

"There are more and more environmental issues being brought to people's attention these days and people are starting to realize they can make a difference."

"The first step of going green is to inform yourself or your business on the different things you can do to be green," says Laura. "Waste is something everyone deals with on a day to day basis, if all it takes is to throw your waste in a blue or green bag instead of a black bag for things to be recycled or composted then the choice is clear."

Aside from making sure the waste our offices produce are dealt with appropriately, many of the things we do at home to reduce energy output and recycle items can be used at work. Switching to more efficient light bulbs, making sure lights not being used are not left on and other common sense solutions can make a big difference in many businesses.

Also, computers or other things that are simply being upgraded may be donated to schools or libraries rather than being thrown out to end up in landfills.