Geoff Hadfield appointed chair of Wood Recyclers’ Association

Mr Hadfield succeeds Michael Tracey of the Paisley firm William Tracey and Sons Ltd as chairman. Mr Tracey’s company was one of just six firms that originally set up the WRA in March 2001.

Four years on, the association now boasts 33 members, including five companies which provide machinery and specialist services within the industry.

These are exciting times for the UK wood recycling sector which I believe has a very bright future.

– Geoff Hadfield, WRA

Mr Hadfield said: “In 2001 we had no trade body. We now have close links with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency directly and through the Recycling Industries Alliance.”

The latest move for the Association has been to form a Wood Materials Organisation to gather data and report wood packaging recovery, Mr Hadfield said, working closely with chipboard trade association the Wood Panel Industry Federation.

Protocol
“We are also working very closely with the wood material team at WRAP – the Waste and Resources Action Programme – on several initiatives including developing a wood packaging protocol and a means of identifying contamination in waste wood,” Mr Hadfield said.

“We have come a long way but there is much more to do. These are exciting times for the UK wood recycling sector which I believe has a very bright future – especially with the demand for waste wood for use as a fuel in power generation,” said Mr Hadfield.

He promised to build on the foundations of WRA established by Mr Tracey and said: “The well-run, health and safety conscious, and environmentally compatible wood recyclers producing high quality products will flourish.”