Obituary: Trevor Fletcher

His funeral was held in Kettering this morning (November 17) and was attended by family, friends and colleagues. He is survived by his wife Holly.

Mr Fletcher’s career in waste management spanned five decades, starting in 1978 at Northamptonshire county council where he was involved in the development of the authority’s first Waste Disposal Plan and the design and construction of several household waste recycling centres.

He then joined Blue Circle Waste Management Ltd (later Haul Waste) as senior operations engineer in the 1990s where he was initially responsible for the restoration of both completed and operational landfill sites. After a series of promotions he became area manager (South Midlands) and was given responsibility for commercial operations in the area.

His greatest achievement while at Blue Circle was the invention of a commercially viable relocation method for an SSSI protected turf and lichen bed which won a NAWDC award.

In October 1999 he was recruited as waste operations manager for the Isle of Man to lead a variety of improvements to the waste management systems the most significant of which was the development of the Energy from Waste facility on the island.

Since 2002 he was active within many sectors of the waste and resource management industry with the aim of improving operational standards and commercial strength by the provision of specialist support.

Most of his time was spent as an assessor and verifier for the WAMITAB and latterly OCC certificates. He ran EPOC courses for the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and was a keen supporter of the Institution acting as a regular member of their professional interview panels.

Steve May, a long time colleague and close friend of Mr Fletcher’s, said: “The reality is that he touched many peoples lives and had a huge human and professional impact on many people and waste management businesses across the country.

“He was a mentor and help to myself and many other waste management assessors and consultants. He was a man of great intelligence, interest and grace. He also loved a curry. The waste management industry has suffered a professional loss and we have suffered a personal loss.”