BUSINESSES have urged South Lakeland District Council to help the private sector cut commercial waste levels.

Firms are keen to reduce the amount of rubbish that they generate, but want SLDC to play its part in helping to reduce waste sent to landfill sites, a council-organised business liaison meeting heard on Friday at Kendal Town Hall.

The district council currently recycles 23 per cent of rubbish in the area, mainly through schemes such as domestic kerbside collections.

But recycling initiatives have been mostly aimed at households, in line with government targets, leaving businesses largely out in the cold.

Several businesses told the meeting that they had been thwarted in attempts to step up recycling. Part of the problem was that commercial waste was banned from Cumbria County Council-run civic amenity sites, meaning there were no central collection points for firms to legally leave their waste.

However, the county council is negotiating fresh contracts for the sites as part of new waste management arrangements from 2007, and is considering ways of dealing with business waste, the meeting heard.

SLDC is trying to grasp the nettle by sponsoring the Cumbria Business Environment Network (CBEN), which now offers free advice and support to businesses in the area as well as in Eden and Carlisle.

CBEN, which is hoping to extend its services countywide in the future, provides a variety of assistance, from environmental audits and seminars, to newsletters and a website (www.cumbriaben.co.uk).

Several new initiatives are in the pipeline, including a brokerage service and shared waste collection facilities.

"The aim is to get groups of small businesses together where, for one business, it's not economical for waste to be collected, but by getting a group together you can persuade someone to collect from you," said Karen Bentley, of the Cumbria Waste Minimisation Partnership, which is about to merge with CBEN.

A brokerage scheme would allow businesses to reuse more waste generated by other firms, rather than sending it to landfill.

CBEN also runs an awards scheme, ranging from a bronze award for businesses showing an awareness and commitment to environmentally sound operations, through to a gold award for firms that have put plans into practice.

Research had shown businesses that reduce waste and pollution saved on average around four per cent of their turnover, said Sam Gyllenspetz, of CBEN.

l Eden Community Recycling, which started 24 years ago as a not-for-profit venture, has since become a major player in recycling, with a £300,000 turnover this year and five paid staff, the business liaison meeting was told.