Lester Hicks, head of minerals and waste planning at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has been named as a Commander within the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
John Summers, lately chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful and the chair of the Scottish Waste Awareness Group has been named as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
And, Professor David Wilson of consultancy ERM has been named as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
Hicks
Mr Hicks has worked for many years in developing policy on minerals, water and waste management for various government departments including the DETR and the ODPM.
In recent years, Mr Hicks has helped develop important changes in government planning guidance for waste.
This new approach to planning – published as the document PPS10 earlier this year – aimed to bring about a sharper attitude towards the suitability of proposed waste facilities to help drive forward badly-needed new recycling infrastructure (see letsrecycle.com story).
Earlier this year, he spoke at an Environmental Services Association event in which he warned local authorities that if they take a stance against incineration, they will need to plan for many more recycling facilities instead (see letsrecycle.com story).
He also issued a warning concerning ambitions for mechanical biological treatment plants, saying: “A lot of people are going for MBT – but you have got to have long-term markets lined up for the end product. If you're going to have piles of this stuff lying around, the Agency wants to know what you're going to do with it.”
Mr Hicks was also part of the advisory group that, from January 2002, assisted with the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit in drawing up a report that led to the reshaping of Defra's policymaking in waste management.
Summers
As a fellow of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, Mr Summers has been involved with the waste industry for almost 40 years.
Chairing the Scottish Waste Awareness Group, he has helped shape Scotland's nationally co-ordinated Waste Aware Campaign. Since its formation in the year 2000, SWAG has aimed to transform national attitudes towards recycling, thereby helping councils meet their recycling targets.
Mr Summers, who has also been chief executive of Moray Council, was awarded his OBE “for services to the environment”.
Wilson
This year also saw an MBE awarded to Professor David Wilson, visiting professor in waste management at Imperial College, University of London. Prof Wilson was rewarded “for services to waste management in the UK and Europe”.
A former Consultant of the Year, Prof Wilson has been working in the waste management field for more than 30 years, including as a director of international waste development within consultancy Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
He has written over 100 publications, and was appointed as visiting professor in the Centre for Environmental Control and Waste Management (CECWM), within the Imperial College Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2000.
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Prof Wilson led work developing hazardous waste management education and training provision for local decision-makers, within an eight-year International Solid Waste Association and UN project until 2002.
He has also represented the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management on Defra's Hazardous Waste Forum.
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