The Business Environmental Program provides free and confidential environmental management assistance to business and government operations in Nevada. The Program specializes in cost effective strategies to reduce hazardous materials and waste generation, conserve water and energy, minimize air emissions, and maintain compliance with environmental requirements. The program provides training, on-site consultation, assistance over the phone and through its website and publications.
The manufacture of common polystyrene cups, plates and sandwich containers uses significantly less energy and water than comparable paper-based or corn-based alternatives, according to a new study. The study (pdf) for the Plastic Foodservice Packaging Group, by Franklin Associates, compares average-weight polystyrene foam, paperboard and corn-based (also known as polylactic) cups used in 16-ounce hot...
EPA has updated its guidance on how to properly clean up a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and also developed a new consumer brochure with CFL recycling and cleanup tips. CFLs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a CFL breaks, some of the mercury is released as vapor and...
EPA guidance recommends that schools take steps to reduce potential exposures to PCBs from older fluorescent lighting fixtures. Pre-1979 ballasts contain PCBs that can leak when the ballasts fail. Schools with older ballasts should examine them to see if they have failed or have PCB leaks. If a light ballast is leaking PCBs, federal law...
EPA strengthened certain provisions of the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in November, 2009. Drilling, production or workover facilities that are offshore or that have an offshore component, or onshore facilities required to have and submit facility response plans (FRPs), due to the threats these facilities could pose of significant oil spills to...
Effective January, 2011, new, more rigorous guidelines are in place for new homes that earn the Energy Star label. The new requirements will make qualified new homes at least 20 percent more efficient than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, slashing utility bills for qualified homes by 15 percent. Key elements of...
WASHINGTON, DC — A federal program that helped companies with environmental goals at facilities and was killed off in 2009 has been recreated as a non-profit with an expanded scope. The concept behind the program now lives on in the non-profit Stewardship Action Council (SAC). Members of Performance Track that wanted to see the program...
Employee engagement. It’s one of the most critical elements of any sustainability or CSR program, but it’s also one of the most perplexing. The reason it’s so difficult is that most of us aren’t professional “engagers.” But game designers are. Seth Priebatsch, founder of SCVNGR, believes the engaging foundations of game thinking is ready to...
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released updated data and a mapping tool designed to help the public compare water quality trends over the last two years. The web-based, interactive map includes “state dashboards” that provide detailed information for each state, including information on facilities that are violating the Clean Water Act...
EPA Recycling Water Science