He is set to retire from the Agency on December 31 2008 but stressed that he still aimed to play an active role in waste and recycling circles and this would include his work with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).
I am retiring from the Agency, but I prefer to refer to it as leaving the Agency. I will still be active in waste
Jeff Cooper
Mr Cooper explained that the EA was restructuring and his deputies, Adrian Harding, WEEE policy advisor, and Bob Mead, project manager for batteries, would be continuing to focus on producer responsibility at the Agency.
Mr Cooper, 59, told letsrecycle.com that he was looking forward to being able to commit more of his time to his other responsibilities. He is now going to concentrate on his work as vice-chairman of ISWA, speaking at a number of international conferences, and is hoping to become president of the organisation in 2010.
From 2007-08 he was president of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and he is still on its general council. He said: “I will continue playing the role the CIWM want me to play for as long as they would like me to.” He also represents the CIWM at ISWA and works on the Institution's strategy group for waste.
According to Mr Cooper, producer responsibility arrangements for waste electrical and electronic equipment, packaging and end-of-life vehicles, have all offered significant benefits to the environment and he is also looking forward to seeing the rolling-out of producer responsibility for batteries.
He said: “Environmentally producer responsibility has been very significant in terms of ensuring waste is treated more effectively. We have found a situation that from 1998 to 2008 we have gone from 30% recovery of packaging to 64% last year. That's good. It means there is more waste being put through to recycling as well as to energy recovery.”
He added: “I'm most proud of establishing the regulatory systems within the EA for dealing with producer responsibility.” Mr Cooper explained that striking the right balance between industry, the EA and the Government was “hard” while at the same having to incorporate the intentions of the European Union directives which overlay producer responsibility.
Projects
Proud of the work he and the Agency have done to develop producer responsibility; Mr Cooper is now looking forward to having more time to work on other projects. In the immediate weeks following his retirement, Mr Cooper will be busy writing a chapter for the newest edition of Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health. He will also be speaking at a number of conferences, but after 10 years at the Agency is looking to wind down a little and have a “bit of a break”.
Mr Cooper has been involved in the recycling and waste sector since 1982. Originally a lecturer in geography at Kingston Polytechnic, his interest in waste was sparked when a student wrote a paper outlining a waste strategy for London. Then, after a chance meeting in a pub he was handed an advert for waste a recycling coordinator for the Greater London Council. He got the job and quipped that the GLC had got itself a “recycled academic”. This post subsequently led to regulatory work for the London Waste Regulation Authority which was absorbed into the Agency in 1996.
In the future, he hopes to make good use of his background in policy and the academic world in his role as vice-chairman of ISWA and is keen for the organisation to establish stronger links with academic and policy communities.
He said: “I am retiring from the Agency, but I prefer to refer to it as leaving the Agency. I will still be active in waste.”
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