Discover the waste reducing app that’s cutting costs for NSW businesses
By Rachael Ridley 17 June 2024
Businesses in NSW can access the NSW EPA’s Bin Trim Business App for free to learn how to reduce waste to landfill and potentially slash waste management costs.
To date, the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has assisted more than 38,000 businesses in NSW resulting in 260,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill through the Bin Trim Program. Due to its success, the NSW EPA created a free online portal to make the program accessible to more businesses across the state.
How will the app help my business?
The Bin Trim Business App is a free online portal that businesses can use themselves to discover how to improve waste management practices through avoidance, reduction, reuse and recycling.
Once you have registered for the program, you will be guided to complete a visual waste assessment by measuring the types and amounts of waste produced by your business. You’ll then receive an action plan to reduce waste and save money, including access to support and resources, and links to service providers to help you implement the actions.
As part of the Bin Trim Program, the NSW EPA also launched the Bin Trim Equipment Rebates Program to provide financial assistance to businesses that want to purchase or lease recycling equipment including balers, shredders, composters and bins. Once you have completed the waste assessment, you may be eligible for a rebate of up to $50,000 or 50 per cent of the capital cost of equipment or technologies that amplify waste avoidance.
What are the benefits?
Every business deals with a range of materials that may become waste, from plastic, paper and cardboard to food and other organics. Understanding the types of materials and the volume generated by your business is critical to identifying actions and strategies that will reduce waste and save your business money. A waste assessment can be undertaken by an auditor, which can be a costly exercise, however, the Bin Trim Business App allows businesses in NSW to access these tools for free.
Once the waste assessment is complete, you will be provided an action plan outlining the steps to begin reducing waste. These actions will prevent valuable resources from being sent to landfill and could reduce the costs associated with waste collection and disposal.
The program provides free phone and email support to help you implement the action plan, as well as helpful charts and graphs to help track your progress. You will also have access to industry benchmarks based on waste data from your industry sector and location to compare your progress. And you will be able to generate high-level reports by local government area, industry sector, volume and weight.
I want to reduce my business’s waste and associated costs – where do I start?
Businesses in NSW can simply sign up to register a site and get started:
Sign up for a free account.
Provide an overview of your waste.
Create your action plan.
Track your progress.
Rachael manages the Business Recycling and Recycling Near You websites. Rachael joined Planet Ark in early 2019 after eight years working in media and publishing as a producer, editor and writer. Rachael loves using her skills in content creation and communication to instigate positive environmental behaviour change. Outside of work, Rachael enjoys spending time in nature, listening to music and patting dogs.
