Introduction

1.1 CIWM

You may have picked up that today is being called Back to the Future Day, in recognition that Michael J Fox went from 1983 to 21st October 2015. The producers got some things right and some things wrong. No elevated skateboards, but the car with the fusion generator using waste food was closer to the mark - instead Kilmarnock buses rely on a transesterification process of used cooking oils as an energy source.

It is a great honour to be the 100th President of CIWM and I am particularly grateful to my three sponsors at the time Roger Hewitt, Barry Dennis and John Skidmore.

CIWM started its life back in 1898 as the Association of Cleansing Superintendents of Great Britain. 20 years later it became the Institute of Public Cleansing. In 1981 it became Institute of Wastes Management. And in 2003 it became the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating our centenary in 1998.

I served for a number of years as Honorary Centre Secretary and Treasurer of the Scottish Centre of CIWM and I have records of meeting and accounts - going back in time. Annual accounts! Peter Johnston was telling me that the Scottish Centre used to include Northern Ireland until it formed its own centre back in the early 1980s

Having worked in this city for the past 25 years, I am especially pleased that CIWM agreed to host this inauguration event here in the City Chambers with all its historical significance, and grateful to John Quinn our immediate past president who started this "in the provinces approach" off in Belfast.

Given this Back to the Future concept I thought I'd take you back a little and make some observations.

1.2 Glasgow

When Oliver Cromwell came to Glasgow in 1648, one of his entourage had written that "The town of Glasgow though not so big or so rich, yet to all seems a much sweeter and more delightful place than Edinburgh". And Daniel Defoe wrote "It is one of the cleanliest, most beautiful and best built cities in Great Britain".

Glasgow has a significant story to tell when it comes to waste management. Frank Baillie wrote "it has always been Glasgow's endeavour to adopt the latest methods, plant and equipment suitable to its particular cleansing problems and the changing pattern of refuse collection".

Glasgow, like many other cities, had destructor technologies which incinerated much of the city's waste. In 1933, George Soper from New York, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and seen as "an expert of undoubted authority", said the following:"Glasgow's latest sanitary accomplishment is the establishment of a system of refuse collection and disposal which is far ahead of New York"

The city operated covered vehicles of great size and mobility, and piloted 21 vehicles before selecting three to operate… an early example of framework contracts! George said that the refuse is taken to a distance and burned in an incinerator that is one of the newest and best in the world.

Based on the number of units produced, this Refuse Power Plant was generating 4.5MW, not quite as much as the Energos system being used out at the GRREC facility being built in the city as we speak. Much of this electricity was sold to the grid, but some of the electricity was used to power 50-60 refuse collection vehicles that serviced the city at night.

2 Themes for the Year

Several people have asked me if I have a theme that I would like to bring forward this year. There is a recent tradition of incoming presidents taking up a cause or an issue to run with during their tenure.

2.1 Circular economy

John Quinn has grasped the circular economy and allowed our voice to be heard across the UK and Europe, at a time when the EU backed off earlier in the year and now looking to come back with ambition by Christmas. Circular economy is not new to European policy makers - the 2020 Resource Efficient Europe Initiative, the Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling, and the principles of Article 4 of the Framework Directive on Waste, better known as the Waste Hierarchy, have all contributed to the current landscape. All point to a system where we retain material within the economic cycle for as long as it has value.

So with the EU pronouncing later this year, no doubt we will continue to promote greater resource efficiency. But the biggest challenge is for Governments to set the right climate for producers, manufacturers, designers, procurers, and suppliers. I have no doubt our industry will be there to drive and support this shift in mindset on resource use.

2.2 Producer responsibility

Last year we produced our Austerity report with AEA Ricardo, which highlighted the pressures and real challenges local authorities face in delivering recycling targets at a time of severe cuts. Producer responsibility is also a core building block in the WFD and I would like to see how producers and manufacturers can contribute to the collection and treatment of waste collected by our local authorities. I am not alone in this view and we would look to report on this later this year and bring further evidence from Government consideration.

We have established a closer working relationship with the Environmental Services Association through Resources & Waste UK to highlight where our industry is working well and where government intervention is needed. Our joint report on secondary recycled material markets demonstrates the real risks our industry faces.

The need to tackle waste crime is also critical. It was to be expected when the cost to dispose of waste in a refuse collection vehicle is almost £1000, together with weak secondary material markets, that we might see the rise in crime, and we are working with regulatory agencies and the industry to support initiatives to disrupt criminals and reduce waste crime.

2.3 Waste data

One area that I am particularly interested in is how our industry manages waste data into meaningful information for decision-making. For years there has been a general acceptance and belief that the UK was playing catch-up on recycling performance with our northern European colleagues. That gap has dramatically reduced over the past few years, and we have seen major investment by the private sector to treat waste rather than landfill.

We are meeting European targets on Producer Responsibility. We have now reached the point where comparing our performance with other countries is down to the nuances of definitions by nations. For instance, incinerator bottom ash used in roads and construction is counted towards recycling in Germany but not in other countries. A study commissioned by CIWM and undertaken by SOENECS and the University of Brighton suggests a potential variance of nearly 15 percentage points on recycling rates depending on the calculation methods used. That report will be released by CIWM this week. But it highlights the need for a greater harmonisation of European nations report recycling performance, and demonstrates our desire to see informed debate on comparative performance indicators.

2.4 Education

You might think that I would have an interest in promoting education in the waste arena. I am currently programme leader for a suite of MSc Programmes, one of which is waste and resource focussed. Over the past 10 years we have had students from 95 countries. Surprisingly few are from the UK, pointing to a huge hunger to learn from our experience in the UK and opportunity to influence and support developing nations-. Education in the international context will no doubt figure over the next three years with Prof Margaret Bates, and Prof David Wilson, each with their own unique take on waste in African and developing countries.

And on this international theme, promoting communities of knowledge and communities of practice is something that CIWM is well placed for, and with a world of skype and web conferencing, We have every reason and opportunity to help develop networks of professionals in our sector at very little cost. But this is a longer term view of how we might growth and develop CIWM.

3 Conclusion

So to conclude, being the 100th President of CIWM is a great honour for me, because of the history that it draws and because our longevity reflects our ability as a professional body to adapt and respond to an ever changing world of waste and resources. I look forward to working with our Trustees, members and in particular the CIWM staff who work tirelessly for a chartered institution that has real relevance. Maybe this year I can make a small contribution to that history.