Incoming CIWM President prioritises action at the top of the Waste Hierarchy

In front of over 150 guests in Terrace Pavilion of the House of Commons, the 2016/17 CIWM President Professor Margaret Bates was inaugurated today and used the occasion to praise the industry and emphasise its impact on our everyday lives1.

“The waste and resource sector is an amazing sector to be part of; it is both friendly and supportive, and innovative and cutting edge… We persuade a large number of people every day to think about their waste, rinse it and put it out separately for recycling even though there is no direct benefit to them at all – can you think of another area that could make similar claims?”

However, in outlining the themes for her presidential year, Professor Bates highlighted the fact that there is much more to be done on waste prevention and reuse.

“Although the ways in which we treat and recycle waste are constantly improving, I am concerned that we focus too much on these aspects of the Waste Hierarchy without sufficient consideration of the options at the top, which will, I believe, be essential to delivering on a circular economy – whatever our UK version of a circular economy may be.”

Making the case for a renewed focus on reuse, Professor Bates took the opportunity to launch the CIWM’s latest report. Entitled Reuse in the UK – a ‘State of the Nations Report’2, the report has been prepared for CIWM by Beasley Associates Ltd and Ray Georgeson Resources Ltd and provides a detailed snapshot of the current landscape and the different motivations and types of relationships that drive reuse. Margaret emphasised the good work being done, which is captured in the report’s case studies, as well as the challenges.

“For me and the other members of the project steering group, it was very important that this report was a positive piece of work, celebrating the successes of the reuse sector and drawing on all the great experiences and practices out there,” she explained. “We wanted a State of the Nation Report that acknowledged not only the challenges and issues, but really focused on the ways these had been overcome. A report that doesn’t just leave the reader thinking why you should reuse, but is more about why on earth would you not reuse?”

Staying on the topic of changing behaviour, she also outlined CIWM’s current piece of research into technology’s impact on consumption patterns and the role of the supply chain, which is being carried out by John Twitchen at ENV23 for her forthcoming Presidential Report.  Thanking members of the retail sector and design community for their input, she welcomed the “real desire for innovation” in the marketplace and called on brands, retailers and local government to work together to help change wasteful consumption patterns in the future.  

In terms of being able to respond to these and other challenges, Margaret said that the UK waste and resources industry needs “robust, fit for purpose policy and legislation, a culture of innovation that is supported and can respond to change, effective responsibility for resources through the whole value chain…, and a sector which today’s tech-savvy young people want to be a part of, with qualifications, skills and careers structures to support them.”

Presidential Biography

Margaret has been involved in wastes management for 25 years.  After graduating with a BSc in Applied Biology, she was offered a Department of the Environment funded PhD looking at the effects of heavy metals on gas production in landfill and since then has progressed from lecturer to professor at the University of Northampton.  

A member of the CIWM East Anglian Centre Council and Chair of CIWM’s Scientific and Technical Committee for the last six years, Margaret has overseen the commissioning of research that has helped to raise the profile of the Institution and represented CIWM on the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG) enquiry into waste exports.

She has been involved in a number of national and international projects in topic areas including waste and human health, sustainable procurement, landfill fires, resource efficiency for businesses, and developing the policy and infrastructure for electronic waste in Africa. She also has considerable media experience, having been interviewed by national and local TV, radio and newspapers on subjects as diverse as standards for wheelie bin storage, WEEE, energy from waste, recycling and careers in waste. 

Among her other activities, she is a member of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group Advisory Board, a member of the ICE Resource Panel, and an independent expert who is often asked to give advice to Development Control and other planning committees. She has advised two African governments (Kenya and Nigeria) on the development of policy relating to wastes management and delivered training on developing effective policy and regulation for several more (through the United Nations University).  

With Margaret taking over from Professor Jim Baird, the 2016/17 Presidential team comprises President: Professor Margaret Bates, Senior Vice President: Professor David Wilson MBE and incoming Junior Vice President: Enda Kiernan – see below for more detail.

ENDS


Notes to Editors:

  1. The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) is the leading professional body for the waste management sector representing over 6,000 individuals in the UK and overseas. Established in 1898, CIWM is a non profit-making organisation, dedicated to the promotion of professional competence amongst waste managers. CIWM seeks to raise standards for those working in and with the sector by producing best practice guidance, developing educational and training initiatives, and providing information on key waste-related issues. www.ciwm.co.uk

  2. The CIWM 2016/17 Presidential team comprises:

    3. President: Professor Margaret Bates – see biography above

    Senior Vice President: Professor David Wilson MBE

    David obtained a first class degree in Chemistry from Oxford; followed by a doctorate sponsored by the old Harwell Laboratory (Atomic Energy Research Establishment). He then joined the commercial consultancy arm of Harwell, inter alia running a hazardous waste research unit for the Department of the Environment (DOE). After 5 years, he won a contract in Hong Kong for 18 months to develop a computerised decision support system which the government used to plan their modern municipal solid waste facilities. Shortly after returning to England, David joined Environmental Resources Limited (ERL) now ERM and led the firm’s international waste management practice for 20 years.

    For the last 10 years, David has worked as an independent consultant, advising Defra until March 2013 on their Waste and Resources Evidence Programme and authoring many high profile international reports. Since 2000, he has been a Visiting Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Imperial College London.

    A Chartered Chemist and a Chartered Waste Manager, David was recruited in 1984 as a founding member of ISWA's first Working Group on Hazardous Wastes (WGHW), and also of the Editorial Board for ISWA's peer-reviewed journal Waste Management & Research. He continues to serve on both. At CIWM, he is the Chair of the Hazardous Waste SIG and Vice Chair of the Scientific and Technical Committee.

    Junior Vice President: Enda Kiernan

    Enda was the first person in Ireland to receive the National Certificate in Waste Management and is a certified Waste Facilities Manager. He is a Chartered Waste Manager and became a Fellow of the Institution in January 2011. He was Deputy Chairperson of the CIWM ROI Centre in 2007 and was elected as Chairperson in Autumn 2009 and he is also a CIWM General Councillor and Trustee.


    Enda has worked in the local authority service since 1997, specialising in waste management and in waste operations in particular. His experience includes waste licence applications for landfill facilities, waste licence implementation on landfill and civic amenity facilities, environmental management systems, project management of the design, construction and operation of civic amenity facilities, landfill cell and capping construction. He has been involved in preparation of tender documentation and tender evaluation of waste related infrastructure. Other areas of expertise relate to the permitting of waste facilities, waste enforcement, street cleansing and infrastructure development, CA Site Construction Programme and implementation of the WEEE Directive in Ireland. He was Project Manager for the introduction of Pay By Weight and the kerbside collection of dry recyclables in South Cork.

Press contact:
Pat Jennings
Head of Policy & Communications
Tel: 01604 620426
Mob: 07912 228260
E-mail: pat.jennings@ciwm.co.uk