Environment Agency chief to retire
Dr Paul Leinster has decided to retire in September 2015 after 17 years as a senior director of the Environment Agency.
He has been the chief executive since June 2008, having joined the Environment Agency in 1998 as director of environment and protection. He was also director of operations before becoming chief executive.
Dr Leinster has a degree in Chemistry and a PhD in environmental engineering from Imperial College and an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management. In 2008, he was awarded a CBE “for public and voluntary service” (see letsrecycle.com story).
Environment Agency chairman, Sir Philip Dilley, said: “Paul’s contribution to the work of the Environment Agency is evident in all that we do. Among his many achievements, he pioneered the implementation of better environmental regulation and secured long term funding for investment in flood risk management.
“I have benefited enormously from Paul’s wise counsel and experience in my early days as chairman of the Environment Agency and I thank him on behalf of all of our staff for his exemplary leadership as chief executive over the past six years.”
The Agency said that work to recruit a new chief executive would begin ‘shortly’.
Waste industry expert joins Ricardo-AEA
Waste industry expert, Dr Stephen Wise, has joined consultancy Ricardo-AEA’s resource efficiency and waste management practice.
Dr Wise has over 15 years’ experience in waste management: operating municipal and commercial collection fleets and overseeing the implementation of range of waste management technologies, including in-vessel composting solutions, anaerobic digestion, mechanical biological treatment and material recovery facilities.
In previous roles, Dr Wise has worked for Neales Waste Management, Shanks Waste Management and SITA Organics. Throughout his career, according to Ricardo-AEA, Dr Wise has overseen major projects including a business improvement plan for Neales and the development of local authority partnerships to help Shanks deliver private finance initiative waste treatment projects, boosting its profitability.
Commenting on the appointment, Ricardo-AEA’s Dr Adam Read, said: “We’re very pleased to have Stephen join our team. Our clients, particularly those in the public sector, face an increasing squeeze on resources. The experience Stephen brings, delivering efficiency savings through appropriate technical and operational waste management solutions, will further enhance the services we offer clients. This will help them to not only manage waste but extract its inherent value”.
Dr Wise said: “I’m looking forward to working at Ricardo-AEA. In my field, I particularly look forward to helping clients implement new waste infrastructure projects and operational processes that reduce overheads and improve profitability”.
David Sargent to retire from LondonWaste
LondonWaste has announced that its managing director, David Sargent, is to retire in April after 22 years’ service.
Mr Sargent joined the newly-formed LondonWaste in 1992 as its first finance director. In 1999 he was appointed as managing director and has led the organisation for the last 15 years, through the remainder of its period as a joint-venture company into its current status as wholly owned by North London Waste Authority.
During his time with LondonWaste, Mr Sargent has been credited with ‘widening the company’s range of services wherever possible’ and ‘championing’ the development of its main Edmonton site as an EcoPark.
The company – which employs 250 people handling over 800,000 tonnes annually – has recently been awarded a new 10 year waste contract by the Authority and proposals have been launched to build a replacement energy recovery facility at the EcoPark, opening by 2025.
Mr Sargent has advised the LondonWaste board that he feels that this would be an appropriate time for him to pass responsibility onto a new managing director who can take the company through the next stage of its development.
For the industry, he is a past chairman of the Energy from Waste Association and has been a member of the ESA’s executive committee and a former chair of its Renewable Energy Committee. Mr Sargent is currently deputy chairman of Energy and Utility Skills, the employer-led utility and waste sector skills organisation.
LondonWaste’s chairman, John Boast, said: “We would like to thank David for his hard work, commitment and leadership, and wish him a long and enjoyable retirement. LondonWaste will announce the appointment of a new managing director in due course. In the meantime David will remain in post, with our full confidence, until he retires in April.”
Ernst & Young strengthens tax team
Audit and tax specialist Ernst and Young (EY) has announced that it has strengthened its environmental tax team with the appointment of James Buckland as a further landfill tax specialist.
Mr Buckland joins from waste management company Veolia and will assist – amongst others – Julian Bowden-Williams, EY’s lead partner for landfill tax and recently appointed Paul O’Neill, senior manager to advise landfill site operators across the UK.
Mr Bowden-Williams, who is based in the Midlands, commented: “Our growing team of landfill tax specialists reinforces our desire to become the advisors of choice for the environment and waste management industry.”
Compliance manager appointed by Eco
Stephanie Lee has joined Dorset-based recycling company Eco Sustainable Solutions as compliance manager.
Formerly an environmental officer with the Environment Agency for five years, Stephanie spent the last decade working in the borough of Poole’s environmental health department. Her work included dealing with permits, air quality and contaminated land.
Her role with Eco includes overseeing environmental and health and safety across the company’s four sites in Hampshire and Dorset, including Weymouth and Piddlehinton.
Trelawney Dampney, Eco’s managing director, said: “Ensuring our operations are fully compliant lies at the heart of what we do. Stephanie’s appointment is the clearest possible demonstration of the importance we place on our environmental responsibilities.”
Based in Parley, Dorset, Eco Sustainable Solutions was founded in 1993 and now employs 46 people with an annual turnover of £11 million. The company currently handles 250,000 tonnes of organic material each year across four facilities.
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