The North East Sustainable Resources Board, which is chaired by former Cabinet Minister Jack Cunningham, has been established to help the region improve its recycling and reuse capability, reduce the amount of waste it produces and make it a leader in waste and resources management.
The most fundamentally important thing about the board is that it is a public/private stakeholder partnership
Lord Cunningham, chair, North East Sustainable Resources Board
However, while the Board claimed it was the “first committee of its type” outside London, it does not have the power to allocate funding to either private sector or local authority projects, as is the case with the London Waste and Recycling Board.
Instead, its first aim will be to develop a Regional Resource Management Plan which aims to ensure the waste and resources sector is an integral part of plans for a regional strategy for the North-East.
It is also expected to act as the main channel of communication between Defra's Waste Strategy Board and regional partners, with a remit that covers household, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition and hazardous waste, as well as the third sector.
Statement of intent
Lord Cunningham claimed that the creation of the board represented a clear statement of intent from both the public and private sector that they wanted to work together to improve waste management in the North-East.
“The region is rich in companies fulfilling our waste processing requirements, but currently they are lacking the framework in which to coordinate activity to operate with maximum effectiveness and with a common goal in mind,” he said.
“The Board fills precisely this leadership role and we're delighted with the buy-in from high level private sector businesses. With their help and support and the backing of the public sector we will ensure the region develops a waste management policy that is fit for the 21st century,” he added.
There are currently nine members of the Board, in addition to Lord Cunningham, with two positions – one representing a large producer of waste and one representing the investment sector – to be confirmed.
The members, with their areas of focus, are:
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Rt Hon Lord Jack Cunningham of Felling – chair;
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David Beaty of Keltbray Ltd – resources and waste industry;
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Paul Booth of Sabic -recycling industry;
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Michael Thompson of Graphite Resources -waste and resources sector;
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Fiona Gough of the Government Office for the North East -policy;
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Lucy Jowett, Association of North East Councils – North East Regional Strategy and planning;
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Graham Hillier, Centre for Process Innovation – business support & investment;
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Mayor Stuart Drummond, Hartlepool borough council – Local Authority Leaders board member;
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Paul Walker of Hartlepool borough council – chair of Stakeholder Group;
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David Dangerfield, regional director at the Environment Agency – regulation.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com about the Board, Lord Cunningham said: “The most fundamentally important thing about the board is that it is a public/private stakeholder partnership. That is essential, we need the innovation of the private sector.”
He explained that a key priority for the Board was “sharing ideas. This board is not a statutory body, but what we do have is the commitment of organisations, government and local authorities directly involved in the board so we want to make sure all individuals are involved.”
“We'll be outsourcing a lot of our work, commissioning work from the private sector to see where we can produce new activities, looking at tasks, best practice in the UK and abroad,” he added.
Remit
The Board, which has an initial three year remit, is being funded by a combination of public and private sector contributions, including £50,000 from One North East to support its administration.
Its secretariat will be provided by Renew, a Redcar-based organisation which aims to help businesses take advantage of the opportunities offered to them by the move to a low carbon economy.
The Board is scheduled to meet four times a year, with the next meeting set for March 8 2010.
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