From 8am to 12pm at Thompson Buildbase, Miller Road, Preston, free bacon butties were handed out to any builders willing to spend a few minutes listening to valuable tips on waste management.

The event was part of the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) campaign to tackle flytipping in the city. In the last 12 months, 28 per cent of flytipped commercial waste came from the construction industry.

"We feel that today's event has been a great success,” said Environment Agency Area Manager Bernadette Carr, who attended the session. “It's given us the chance to meet building firms informally at a time that's convenient for them and offer advice and information on how they can meet their waste management responsibilities.

“We realise that most builders don't flytip their waste - but they can easily fall prey to illegal disposal operators and all companies have a duty to make sure that their waste doesn't get into the wrong hands. By using the BREW campaign to help small businesses meet their waste disposal responsibilities, we hope that we will see less illegal tipping in Preston as a result."

The Environment Agency realises that time is precious for smaller building firms, who can’t always take a break to attend long seminars on waste issues - and so the Agency has decided to target them with focused, relevant advice, with a free breakfast as an extra incentive.

Preston has been chosen as one of a number of pilot areas under the Defra-funded Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) project. Flytipping and waste crime have been a problem in the city – last year alone, cleaning up illegally-dumped waste cost Preston City Council £300,000.

As part of the BREW campaign, the Environment Agency will advise companies about their waste management procedures and highlight the important part that smaller firms have to play in making waste their business.

Notes

Preston is one of three UK locations to benefit from BREW funding, the others being Stoke-on-Trent and Luton.
BREW is Defra’s Business Resource Efficiency and Waste programme. It provides extra support for businesses on resource efficiency and should deliver substantial financial savings for businesses, as well as significant environmental benefits. The Environment Agency is one of the organisations that will deliver this programme, receiving funding to help tackle waste crime issues.
The Government will raise the rate of Landfill Tax for active waste by at least £3 per tonne every year until it reaches £35 per tonne. The Government has committed to making these increases revenue-neutral to business and local authorities.