The Local Environmental Quality Minister's comments come as Defra announce a new programme of pilot studies, business support services and research to help businesses get smarter in how they manage their resources and ultimately wastage.
The Government's Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme recycles revenue generated through increases in Landfill Tax and ploughs it back into a range of research, free services and support programmes for businesses.
Ultimately the programme, now in its second year, aims to reduce the amount of business waste being sent to landfill by eliminating it where possible and encouraging more innovative use of waste as a resource.
Currently, for every tonne of household waste produced a further ten tonnes of commercial and industrial waste is produced. Defra modelling suggests that commercial waste is likely to grow from 2002 levels by 13% by 2010, 33% by 2015 and 52% by 2020.
Defra's intention to fund a number of pilot studies have been announced today along with additional funding for the national programmes Carbon Trust, Envirowise, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, Environment Agency, National Industrial Symbiosis Programme, the Market Transformation Programme, and others.
Businesses can find out which services might be of help to their operations by contacting their local Regional Development Agency: Ray Waters on 0191 229 6565 or email Ray.Waters@onenortheast.co.uk.
Some businesses in the region have already benefited. For example bpi.industrial, in Stockton-on-Tees, a supplier of industrial polythene sacks, worked with Envirowise on an extensive waste minimisation programme to achieve significant environmental and financial rewards. By investing in new equipment and tightening processes the company reduced the use of raw materials and solvents and are saving more than *600,000 per year as well as increasing productivity.
Details of today's schemes coincide with the Government's ongoing consultation on its review of England's waste strategy. The consultation proposes to give a much greater emphasis on managing and reducing business waste in the future.
Ben Bradshaw warned that business waste in all its guises must move up the corporate agenda:
"The days of dig and dump are over. Businesses in the North East must get smarter in how they handle their waste and our current consultation on England's waste strategy underlines this point.
"The impacts of our everyday consumption patterns on the environment remain severe. The inefficient use of resources can also affect business competitiveness - including small businesses.
"We need to see a revolution in smarter design of products so they are less wasteful and are easier to recycle, we need to see more businesses being more creative with what they do about their waste, and ultimately eliminating a lot of it completely. It's about doing more with less.
"With commercial and industrial waste growing at an alarming rate, waste from these sources is moving up the political agenda: waste is not just about household recycling. There has never been a more relevant time for businesses to get involved."
Among the measures being proposed in the Government's review of England's waste strategy are new targets to cut the amount of waste being sent to landfill by business and industry and a greater emphasis on eco-design - designing out environmental problems such as waste and energy use before they even reach the consumer - and
producer responsibility agreements.
The Landfill Tax, currently £18 per tonne, will rise to £21 per tonne from April 2006.
