The waste and recycling sector was recognised in the 2012 Queens Birthday Honours, published on Saturday (June 16) with OBEs going to Colin Drummond and Nina Sweet and an MBE to John Galvin.
Colin Drummond
Colin Drummond, chief executive at Viridor Waste received his OBE for services to technology and innovation.
Congratulating Mr Drummond, Viridor said: Great to start the week with congratulations to our CEO Colin Drummond on his OBE in Queens Birthday Honours list!
Commenting on his award, Mr Drummond said: Its an honour and humbling. I would like to thank everyone I have worked with at Viridor and in the recycling and waste industry more broadly over the past 20 years. I regard it as an honour for the company and our sector more generally. I have been lucky and privileged in my friends and colleagues.
Mr Drummond was appointed chief executive of Viridor Waste on April 1 1992. He is also an executive director of the Pennon Group. Prior to joining Viridor Mr Drummond was a divisional chief executive of Coats Viyella, having previously been corporate development director of Renold, a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and an official of the Bank of England.
In 2010 he took part in Channel 4s Undercover Boss programme, which saw him go undercover within Viridor to see how the company was working on the ground.
Barry Dennis, Master of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators the livery company of which Mr Drummond is a past master said: We are delighted that Colin has been recognised for his services to the waste and water industry. He has played an important role within Viridor and the livery company.
Nina Sweet
Dr Nina Sweet, an organics waste specialist at the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), received an OBE for services to the waste industry.
Dr Sweet worked at the Environment Agency as part of the waste regulation policy team before she joined WRAP. She was seconded to WRAP from the Agency for a year in June 2007 to work on organic waste processing issues and in particular anaerobic digestion which was a key priority in the 2007 English waste strategy.
Congratulating Dr Sweet on her honour, Jeremy Jacobs, managing director of the Association for Organics Recycling, said: All of the staff at AfOR think it is fantastic news to hear that Nina has received this honour. We recognise her outstanding contribution to the organics recycling sector. She has also done an awful lot of work in the past to help develop the PAS scheme to improve quality within the industry and realising the full potential of the material.
In particular it is great news that biodegradable resource is now seen as mainstream and a significant player in the world of resource management.
John Galvin
John Galvin, waste regulation and crime team leader at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has also been awarded an MBE for services to the environment. After joining the Department in 2005, Mr Galvin has become a key figure, leading the review of waste exemptions from Environmental Permitting that came into force in April 2010, as well as the consultation on proposed restrictions on the landfill of waste.
Mr Galvin has spent 30 years in environmental regulation, in a career that has seen him working for the Greater London council, the London Waste Regulation Authority, and the Environment Agency, where he specialised in licensing.
Mr Galvin said: “Im very proud to receive this award but equally conscious of the many colleagues whose efforts have done much more than mine to bring about higher standards of waste management and regulation and protection of the environment. Waste is a fascinating subject and Ive thoroughly enjoyed the range of experience Ive had from taking rogue operators and fly-tippers to court to developing new legislation and policy. I hope I can put this honour to good use in my Defra role, the wider waste profession and as Secretary to a community-based charity where I live in Essex.”
Commenting on the honours Jeff Cooper, president of the International Solid Waste Association, said: Congratulations to Nina and John. Only last week Nina came across to Brussels to speak to an ISWA meeting about developments in the UK. She did a lot of work on developing PAS 100 and now PAS110 as well as the quality assurance side that goes with them.
Mr Cooper continued: I worked with John at the London Waste Regulation Authority and know that he has developed valuable expertise in, and understanding of, licensing issues which have been of benefit to both the Environment Agency and Defra.
A Defra spokeswoman said: It is great news that Johns hard work and long term commitment has been acknowledged in this way.
Anthony Cleland
Veolia said it believed that Lambeth-based Mr Cleland was the first street sweeper to ever be awarded a British Empire Medal, which was reintroduced this year at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Commenting on his medal Anthony Cleland, street sweeper from Veolia Environmental Services said I was extremely surprised when I found I had been honoured with the British Empire Medal. The appreciation from the local community makes me feel very overwhelmed from all of their support.
David Lusher, Executive director of Veolia Environmental Services, added “We are extremely proud of Anthony’s recognition in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in such an important year. This award highlights he is truly at the heart of his local community.”
Brilliant span
Commenting on the Honours CIWM chief executive Steve Lee, said: It is excellent for the industry in the round for anybody to be recognised and we have got a brilliant span from this list. Colin is an industry thought leader in the UK and beyond and Nina has become the nations technical guru on anaerobic digestion and other areas and has developed her scientific knowledge into policy.
John is a super-experienced regulator and policy maker and it is his continuity that the rest of us continue to benefit from. I am also really pleased for Anthony and through him the other ordinary people whose work that benefits the community has been recognised. They all thoroughly deserve praise.
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