7th January 2019
Posted by Dr Adam Read. Christmas and the New Year period is an ideal time to reflect on the previous 12 months, as well as providing you with a chance to recharge the batteries and plan for the coming year. 2018 – Where did it go? I continued my SUEZ waste odyssey, visiting our sites, contracts and staff across the
12th December 2018
Posted by Dr Adam Read. December is quickly passing by and Defra is running out of days to publish its Resources and Waste Plan (RWP) and associated consultations on the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), changes to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging, future packaging recycling targets and on the consistency of materials collected into circulation.
30th November 2018
Posted by Dr Adam Read. Aldersgate Group organised a report launch event on Thursday, 29th November 2018 entitled ‘What does business want from the Environment Bill?’ I was delighted to present at the launch, where representatives from a number of environmental disciplines came together, with Defra and other government departments to discuss what industry needs from the forthcoming Environment Bill.
3rd May 2018
In the latest update, we focus on the topic of plastic waste, namely plastic packaging. We look at a number of emerging laws and initiatives in this area and what they mean for our customers and the industry.
9th March 2018
Posted by Dr Adam Read. This month, I reflect on two days of heated debate at the 2018 Energy from Waste Conference hosted at etc.venues County Hall, London. Storm in a tea cup? Last week was an interesting one for many reasons, the most notable of which was the weather and its impact on us all. The ‘Beast from the
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
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
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,
2nd December 2015
I welcome the publication of the Circular Economy Package proposals today, which give our sector, and policy-makers, some certainty in respect of targets for landfill diversion and recycling beyond 2020 – which is essential for the crucial investment decisions that need to be taken today and in the near future.
