OBE for Gill Weeks in Queens Birthday Honours

And, the award is also thought to represent the first timethat a woman working in the waste management sector has been honoured in this way.

Ms Weeks, who has worked in the waste sector for 25 years, was recognised for services to the waste industry in the list of honours published on Saturday (June 11).

Yorkshire-born and now living in Cheshire, Ms Weeks started in the industry working for Cleanaway in 1985. She worked much of that period in the North-West, often involved with the hazardous waste side of the company.

She was heading up regulatory affairs at Cleanaway when the company was brought by Veolia in June 2006 and has since continued in the role for Veolia Environmental Services. She is married to Environment Agency regional director Tony Dean.

She has also held a number of key roles at the waste industrys trade body the Environmental Services Association (ESA), playing a significant role on the Hazardous Waste Forum and later the Hazardous Waste Taskforce. Last year she was seconded from Veolia to the ESA as acting policy director between April and November 2010, prior to the appointment of Matthew Farrow to the post on a full-time basis (see letsrecycle.com story).

Ms Weeks has also served on ESA committees, including the regulation committee.

She told letsrecycle.com that she was absolutely thrilled to receive the honour, and added: I am delighted for this recognition at the personal level but also on a wider level as I believe that it is good recognition for the industry as a whole. I am sure it shows that the establishment is taking the waste industry seriously and this all helps contribute to it having a better profile than in the past.

And, Ms Weeks said she was also delighted to get the award as one of few women working at a senior level within the waste management sector. She said: I know other women involved with waste and recycling have received honours including Kay Twitchen at Essex county council.

Without fear of contradiction, I believe I am the first woman in the waste management industry to receive an honour and I hope it acts as an encouragement to other women to work in the sector and as a boost to those already working in it.

We need more women at senior levels in the industry and often we dont get enough women applying to work within it.

Looking back over her work in the sector, Ms Weeks said: I have to say that I have had a great time – it has been a fantastic industry for me. The last 25 years have been a time of immense environmental change with waste management becoming very sophisticated. Waste management has changed and we are so aware now of the importance of recycling, sustainability and climate change.

ESA

Speaking to letsrecycle.com this morning (June 13), the director-general of the ESA, Barry Dennis, paid tribute to Ms Weeks work and immense contribution to providing a balanced and sound knowledge of regulatory affairs.

Were delighted, he said. Its well deserved with the amount of work shes done with the industry over the years. Gill has played a key role in helping to take the sector forward, both through her work and her expert knowledge of regulatory and hazardous waste issues.

Were also delighted the industry has been recognised in this way at a time when the industry needs to continue to increase its profile so people understand the work we are doing, he added.

Veolia

Jean Dominique Mallet, chief executive officer of Veolia Environmental Services (UK) Plc, said: “We are very pleased that Gill’s outstanding contribution to the recycling and waste management industry has been recognised in this way.

“Throughout her career, and latterly during her time with the group, Gill has used her expertise to represent the industry and to ensure best practice and best environmental solutions, particularly in the area of hazardous waste.

It is heartening to see such efforts receive such recognition and I on behalf of all at Veolia Environmental Services congratulate her on such an honour.”

Practical

Praising Gill Weeks for her practical contribution to the industry, Doug Benjafield, former managing director of Cleanaways technical waste business, said Ms Weeks honour was well-deserved.

He said: One of the strengths of Gill was that she knew the industry from the bottom up and this gave her a clear idea of the implications of new legislation. She worked across the sector having been involved with laboratories and technical control through to handling chemical waste and planning applications. I would add that she has put a lot of effort in, not just working for the company, but also for the industry, helping to make sure legislation is more practicable in its approach.