Mr Hill will be taking over from Gavin Graveson, chief operating officer – public and commercial for Veolia, who has chaired the group for two years.
A statement from the Group said that through his work at Suez, “Andy brings 9 years Alternative Fuels experience to the role, having been one of the earliest exporters of RDF to Scandinavia and Europe, along with setting up the first non EU SRF supply to India and Africa.”
Mr Hill is also chair of the Wood Recyclers’ Association. Commenting on his RDF Industry Group appointment, he said: “I am delighted to have been elected as the new Chair of the RDF Industry Group, and look forward to building on the good work of my predecessor, Gavin Graveson, who has successfully built a respected Group of operators addressing some of the key issues and opportunities associated with the RDF industry.”
RDF taxes
He continued: “As both the industry and the Group matures, we’re at an important cross-roads, with the industry facing a number of current challenges including Brexit, potential RDF taxes, and regulatory factors presenting potential barriers to the legitimate, environmentally sound, export of RDF. I’m looking forward to building on the platform the Group has established, and to working collectively to address these issues, by leading the Group in being a respected, trusted and expert voice.”
Mr Hill told letsrecycle.com that the Group benefited from having members from Europe and also from Scandinavia. “Having buyers as well with their European input gives us a useful perspective in what is a dynamic marketplace. The buyers still have a reliance on UK exports whereas we have a reliance on the RDF market in helping to achieve landfill diversion.”
Looking forward, Mr Hill said he hoped that the importance of the RDF market would be taken on board in the waste and resources strategy being prepared by government. He noted that the Group would be looking to influence the government’s agenda although he had some concerns that the role of the sector may not be fully recognised by government.
Platform
Consisting of 27 Members including waste management contractors and operators both from the UK and across Europe, the Group aims to provide a platform for the industry to communicate its work to third parties. The Group has Bristol-based Eunomia Research & Consulting as its secretariat and it recently launched a Code of Practice for the RDF supply chain.
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