18th August 2017
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
15th August 2017
Andy Hill, Market Development Director at SUEZ recycling and recovery UK reports his views on the latest regulations within the wood recycling sector. As I sit here gathering my thoughts as to what to share with you, I can’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu or in other words…here we go again on the merry-go-round of regulatory review!
18th July 2017
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
15th July 2017
This summer, we look at a number of key pieces of legislation, government and industry news, and what it means for our customers. Replacement of Data Protection Act 1998 From 25 May 2018, the UK Data Protection Act 1998 will be replaced by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), framing new rules around the storage and handling of personal
6th July 2017
Andy Hill, in his role as chair of the Wood Recyclers Association, explains why we need to recognise the value of waste wood as an asset towards the UK’s energy security. It’s within many of our lifetimes that we can remember the days of power cuts, coal miner strikes and the like. The days when the UK’s energy market was
23rd June 2017
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
15th June 2017
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
18th May 2017
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
28th April 2017
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,
14th April 2017
This is the spring 201 legislation update, in which we look at a number of key pieces of legislation, government and industry news, and what it means for our customers. Industrial Strategy: Government green paper The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is consulting on a green paper on the UK’s Industrial Strategy. Entitled Building our Industrial Strategy, the
