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The Greenest of Them All

The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to set an example by going green, too. The department has announced the creation of the Sustainable Operations Council, a task force charged with looking at ways to cut waste in all areas, from purchasing to transportation. One goal is to attain a 40% recycle rate by the end of 2010. Aside from helping the environment, the effort is likely to save tons of money.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to set an example by going green, too. The department has announced the creation of the Sustainable Operations Council, a task force charged with looking at ways to cut waste in all areas, from purchasing to transportation.

One goal is to attain a 40% recycle rate by the end of 2010. Aside from helping the environment, the effort is likely to save tons of money. The USDA occupies 89 million square feet of office space and manages 193 million acres of land. The department also utilizes more than 46,000 vehicles.

“Many people may not realize that USDA's budget is larger than the Gross Domestic Product of most nations in the world, and manages more land than the total acreage of several U.S. states,” said USDA Secretary Mike Johanns, in a statement.