Media Release

11 JULY 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PILOT PROGRAM IN WASTE REDUCTION FOR NORTHERN CHAMBER BUSINESSES

“The Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to encourage members to reduce their environmental footprint have received a major boost with the recent announcement of a pilot program with the Department of Climate Change (DECC) to develop a waste management tool targeting specifically small to medium businesses.”

“The DECC have already worked extensively with large businesses in the region to improve their waste management. This new program will be the first program specifically designed involving small and medium sized enterprises. Member businesses of the Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce will be the first to trial it.”

“The program will be conducted during August and September and involve ten different types of businesses entering into an arrangement with the DECC to help develop a new waste auditing tool that will generate a tailored resource recovery and waste management action plan for each business type.

“Some of the types of businesses in the Chamber that DECC will be actively seeking to participate are cafes, florists, chemists, beauticians, auto car detailing, business services, banks, hardware, real estate, graphic designers, butchers, boutiques.”

“There are significant environment benefits to managing waste correctly. For example, if waste paper is disposed of in landfill it can generate up to twenty times more greenhouse gas in the form of methane than if it was recycled, composted or burned. There are also financial benefits to reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.”

“’The pilot project aims to assist small businesses in overcoming the barriers they face in finding the time or energy to address their own environmental issues and this program is an important step for all small businesses to make their own tangible reduction in the impact they have on the environment’ said Chamber President Pauline Lacelles-Smith”

For further information contact the Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce on 42941243.

For further information please contact Pauline Lacelles-Smith, President, Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce. PO Box 396 Helensburgh NSW 2508 T: (02) 4294 1243

Issued by:

Lynda Starkey
Media Liaison Coordinator
Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce
Mobile: 0408 623 420