SMEs in the West Midlands now have the benefit of their own recycling adviser.
The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has appointed Claire Atkins as part of its Recycle at Work scheme.
Ms Atkins, who will be based in Birmingham, is the first of three such advisers to be appointed in England.
She will provide one-to-one support to SMEs to help them recycle more materials by finding appropriate local recycling services, assessing what can be recycled, developing in-house recycling schemes and providing training to staff to encourage them to use them.
Covering the whole region from the county of Herefordshire to the borough of Coventry, Ms Atkins will also work with local recycling organisations to help get additional services into new areas to make it easier for SMEs to recycle their waste.
She said: "Our aim is to be a one-stop shop for SMEs who want to start recycling at work or recycle more things.
"We are developing an online searchable database of recycling service providers and providing support to SMEs to help them through the process, advising what can be recycled and how best to store and segregate materials for recycling.
"In addition we can provide on-site training that suits the needs of their specific business. We are particularly keen to hear from SMEs who want to recycle their office and packaging waste, and from pubs, clubs and hotels."
Previously a domestic recycling coordinator for Brumcan, Ms Atkins launched, developed and managed a first multi-material kerbside recycling scheme in Birmingham for 22,000 residents in high density areas of the city.
She was also a team leader in waste policy for a local authority and managed the running of a bulking station, waste initiatives and the recycling credits system.
Sarah Downes, WRAP's manager for the English regions, said: "Many SMEs want to recycle their waste but find it difficult to access appropriate recycling services because they think it is more costly and time consuming, and they lack information and internal human resource to get started. "
