Bob Wilkes appointed Wastewise managing director
Bob Wilkes has been appointed managing director at Hull-based recycling and waste management firm Wastewise.
Mr Wilkes took over the role from James Landau, who became executive chairman, and will be responsible for the strategy, planning and management of the business currently operating across Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Cheshire.
Mr Wilkes originally joined in 2009 for a short time and came back on board in 2017 to manage the “rapid growth of the company” in the role of operations and development director.
Owner James Landau commented: “Bob is the ideal candidate to step into my shoes and drive forward the next phase of our growth strategy. As a respected and well-liked member of the management team this is a natural next step.
“As we continue to grow our business further, I look forward to the challenges and opportunities this will bring and to developing our knowledgeable and dedicated team.”
Cawleys celebrates 75th anniversary
Waste management company Cawleys has kicked off its 75th anniversary celebrations with a tree planting event.
The event was a follow up to a similar one 15 years ago in celebration of the firm’s 60th birthday.
Part of a wider initiative by the Forest of Marston Vale to plant a further 5 million trees in the local area, the planting took place at the Houghton House site on 13 March.
One of Luton’s largest employers, Cawley has more than 200 staff at its headquarters, with sites in Milton Keynes and Wellingborough.
Anna Cawley, communications and strategy director, said: “The last few years have been a challenge and now that we are looking at bright future, our impact on the environment is more important than ever. Planting trees is the perfect way to give back and start a legacy for our next 75 years.”
Suffolk in call to keep glass out of kerbside
The Suffolk Waste Partnership (SWP) is launching a 12-week campaign to get people to use bottle banks instead of putting glass in their household recycling bins.
The campaign ‘Glass – It’s Better in The Bank’ runs until 31 May and will feature in adverts on buses, billboards and on a van touring part of the county, plus on social media and radio.
District and borough councils will be applying bin tags and stickers to recycling bins containing glass.
The Great Blakenham materials recycling facility doesn’t accept glass in household recycling as it is unable to separate glass from other materials.
Glass represents about half of the wrong material in household recycling bins, with rejections levels running at around 20%. Mistakenly placed glass costs the SWP around £500,000 a year and can spoil other good recycling.
Partnership chair councillor James Mallinder said: “Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled repeatedly without loss of quality as long as it’s put in the right place”.
NLWA urges the government to reinstate EPR start date
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is calling on the government to reinstate the 2023 extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation start date.
The authority called for the legislation to be extended to difficult-to-recycle products like mattresses and carpets, and unrecyclable items like wet wipes and single-use nappies.
This would allow councils more money to fund waste prevention projects and expanded doorstep recycling services, the NLWA added.
The legislation was due to be rolled out in 2023 but earlier this month, Defra announced its delay with no set date.
Councillor Clyde Loakes, NLWA chair, said: “We need a commitment that the expected £1 billion raised from EPR all goes to local government. This would allow proceeds from the levy to be ringfenced for waste prevention initiatives as well as measures to help remove the structural barriers to recycling, which are stalling rates across London.”
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