OK, so although I spent yesterday afternoon thinking about the giant floating plastic continent and feeling overwhelmed, I am feeling much more like my optimistic self today. However, this is not blind optimism that ’science’ is going to figure this out. I am feeling better because I was just visiting the Recycling White Paper section on GreenCollarEconomy.com and noticed that hundreds and hundreds of business people are downloading these documents while looking for best practices for ther companies.

I like to believe that they are doing this for two reasons - first, humans run companies and deep down, even the greediest captain of industry wants to protect the environment; second, they know they are throwing good money after bad by simply throwing out so much trash. Here is a great example. Bayer Healthcare has lowered their garbage disposal bill by over $500,000/year and diverted over 70% of their waste from landfill into the recycling stream - all while making their business more profitable.

We need more businesses to wake up and start looking at sustainability as a strategic opportunity. There are thousands of ways to make ROI-generating investments in sustainability that will make a business stronger in more ways than just the short-term bottom line.