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Author: DrGevE

Rethinking the waste hierarchy

24th October 2017 Posted by

The term “rethink” is a particular favourite within our sector. Examples of reports and projects abound: rethinking waste, rethinking waste management, rethinking waste crime, rethinking organic waste, rethinking recyclability. What about rethinking the waste hierarchy? Many suggestions have been put forward, expanding the so-called 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) to 5Rs, 6Rs (Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replace) and even 10Rs

Innovation in the waste sector is alive and kicking

6th October 2017 Posted by

Innovation in the waste management sector is alive and kicking. Such was the take-home message from the ‘Hackathon’ organised by London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) in collaboration with RWM and industry partner SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, with a prize co-sponsored by LWARB and SUEZ. Hackathons are, according to one definition, “creativity marathons. Thoughts become things. Attendees work to

Circular economy under the microscope

18th August 2017 Posted by

Big Ideas tend to trace a similar life cycle – great excitement leading to an avalanche of high-level studies making Big Claims, followed by a flurry of policymaking activity building on said studies. Then, a period of introspection sets in. Is the Big Idea all it is cracked up to be? Are the claims overblown? Are the benefits as easy to realise as

Communicating data

18th July 2017 Posted by

The importance of science in our daily lives is taken for granted these days – no one would gainsay the impressive advances we have made these past two generations, in all aspects of life. But along with technological prowess we are paying an environmental price for the lifestyles we have come to expect and enjoy – pollution, waste, loss of

Brexit and the Circular Economy Package

23rd June 2017 Posted by

The publication of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, converting all extant EU laws into UK law, again brings into focus the likely fate of the EU’s Circular Economy Package (CEP) post-Brexit. All guesswork and supposition of course, since a forward-looking waste management vision and plan for the UK is conspicuously lacking at the moment. Incorporation of the CEP into UK

Brexit – reflecting on policy

15th June 2017 Posted by

The result of last June’s referendum was greeted with dismay by most waste watchers, concerned that a hard Brexit would pull the rug from under our sector’s feet, exposing a policy vacuum. Our first reaction was to ask for the entire EU waste acquis to be retained – including the Circular Economy Package (CEP) currently under discussion. But perhaps we

Another opportunity for the fresh thinking

18th May 2017 Posted by

With a hard Brexit now on the cards, we seem to be veering between bravado (releasing ourselves from “EU environmental diktats”, according to one quote) and talking ourselves into a blue funk over the prospect of losing the very bedrock of our sector’s foundational policies and modus operandi. The truth is that while the waste management sector relies overwhelmingly on

Another commodities crash

28th April 2017 Posted by

The news that oil prices are again on the way down after signs of a rally earlier in the year suggests that the challenges faced by the secondary materials market are not yet fully resolved. Not only has the price of Brent oil dipped below $50 a barrel, but industrial metal prices have also fallen, affecting materials such as iron,

Why is data crucial to a circular economy?

14th November 2016 Posted by

Dr Gev Eduljee, External Affairs Director at SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, shares his thoughts on how data influences the resource industry. According to Gev, data forms the backbone of the circular economy, which is why society needs policymakers to put big data “front-centre of the resource strategy.” The retail, banking and many other sectors joined a digital revolution and

Finance is circular economy catalyst

30th April 2016 Posted by

The thorny subject of finance – the little-explored but nevertheless crucial aspect of driving the circular economy. This topic was recently explored at the ‘Finance, the Catalyst to the Circular Economy’ conference hosted by ING Wholesale Banking, the Dutch Embassy and Green Alliance last month (March). The circular economy relies not only on new technologies that recover and recycle materials

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