Speaking to letsrecycle.com yesterday (March 10), the chief executive of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Liz Goodwin, explained that it had been working hard with the other Defra-funded resource efficiency groups to ensure it was “business as usual” for their stakeholders
Hopefully it will be a smooth transfer – we have been working with all the organisations
Dr Liz Goodwin, chief executive, WRAP
“Hopefully it will be a smooth transfer – we have been working with all the organisations,” she said.
At the start of next month, WRAP aims to become the “first port of call” for businesses, councils and homeowners looking for waste, recycling and resource efficiency advice, as a result of a decision made by Defra in March 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story) as part of its delivery landscape review, with government looking to reduce the number of business support bodies it funds.
This will involve the websites and helplines for other bodies, such as Envirowise, the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP), and the BREW Centre for Local Authorities, being wound down over the next year.
The move to a single body is also set to see WRAP broaden its focus, addressing energy from waste (see letsrecycle.com story) and the lifecycle of products, such as packaging (see letsrecycle.com story).
Dr Goodwin explained that the change was “all about making the whole process more efficient” and making it easier for people to get hold of advice and information on resource efficiency.
WRAP has previously said that it expects the overhaul to create £5.7 million in efficiency savings (see letsrecycle.com story), and Dr Goodwin said yesterday that “we are making some financial savings as a result of the integration activities”.
However, in terms of the effect on staffing, she highlighted the fact that, in some cases the programmes being brought under WRAP's control were run by another body – for example the Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse which is run by consultancy Oakdene Hollins.
And, she added: “In terms of people and size of organisations it's not that easy to say what's going up and what's going down.”
While WRAP will be in charge of delivering Defra's resource efficiency agenda, Dr Goodwin explained that it would still be outsourcing some significant aspects of its work.
“What we're doing is that, for the work that was done under Envirowise and NISP we're in the process of letting two big outsourced contracts to do those activities – industrial symbiosis and business resource efficiency,” she said.
“The contracts are being signed this week and going live this April,” she added, noting that, “there are some members of WRAP staff who are going to join the organisations who are doing the business resource efficiency work.”
In the case of the BREW Centre for Local Authorities, the work is being taken in-house, to be run by WRAP's director for local government services, Philip Ward.
Focus
Acknowledging the importance of a lifecycle approach to WRAP's new focus, Dr Goodwin explained: “Because we're now the single resource efficiency delivery body that meant we've taken a long hard look at what we can do, talking about it from a resource efficiency point of view.”
In particular, she highlighted, “we've got a clear steer from Defra about what it's priorities are”, noting that there would be more focus on issues such as product design and “driving up the waste hierarchy”.
Ms Goodwin explained that WRAP's approach to the next year, ahead of the launch of its next business plan in 2011, meant: “I am trying to make this an evolution so everyone gets business as usual but we're trying to evolve.”
Scotland
A similar streamlining of resource efficiency bodies is being undertaken in Scotland (see letsrecycle.com story), where all seven bodies will be brought together under 'Zero Waste Scotland, to be managed by WRAP.
Meanwhile, WRAP plans to continue to work as WRAP Cymru and WRAP Northern Ireland in Wales and Northern Ireland respectively.
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