LARAC appoints chief executive officer

The Local Authority Recycling and Advisory Committee (LARAC) has appointed Lee Marshall as its new chief executive officer, it announced today (November 21).

Mr Marshall, who will also take over some duties currently carried out by the LARAC chair, will take up the position from April 1 2014 on a three-year contract with a possible two-year extension.

He has been involved in waste management in the public sector for more than 15 years, including positions with Stratford, Coventry and Woking councils. Mr Marshall also has experience of the waste industry having spent three years with waste management company Grundon as contract manager.

In May 2012, Mr Marshall stepped down as an executive member of LARAC after leaving his senior manager for policy and waste position at Powys county council. He left to join Hyder Consulting UKs waste team as its technical director (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Marshall, who also served as LARAC chair for four years prior to current chair Joy Blizzard, now works as interim head of environmental development and operations at Oadby and Wigston borough council in Leicestershire.

Outgoing executive officer Colin Kirkby MBE, who took up the position in 2001, will retire from the role in May 2014.

Election

Current chair of LARAC, Joy Blizzard, will also step down from her role after elections for her successor which take place in January 2014.

Ms Blizzard currently has a one-day-per-week secondment arrangement from her job as waste initiatives officer at Shropshire council to help her carry out LARAC duties.

However, a spokesman for LARAC said that due to local authority budgetary constraints, it was doubtful that this arrangement would be possible for the new chair.

As such, some of the new chairs administrative duties are likely to be scaled back and instead incorporated into the new chief executive officer role being taken on by Mr Marshall.

Mr Marshall commented: Colin will be a hard act to follow but I am looking forward to supporting the executive and working with LARAC members and the wider industry. These are challenging times and the work of LARAC is as important as everandit will be exciting to be a part of it.