The Spanish-owned company was announced as an affiliate member yesterday (July 17) after its application was approved at a meeting of the Resource Association’s Board earlier this month.
Paul Taylor, group chief executive of FCC Environment, said: “We are very pleased to join the Resource Association. Circular economy thinking is bringing into sharper focus the need for quality recyclate rather than simply focusing on the quantity of materials we recover.
“In the absence of a clear roadmap for future policy emerging from government, we look forward to engaging in a debate with our fellow members to help shape our industry’s future.”
FCC is already a member of the Environmental Services Association (ESA) – which serves the waste management industry – and also of the Environmental Industries Commission, which represents businesses providing environmental services and technology.
As part of its work the Resource Association has called for the production of higher quality material from materials recycling facilities and it leans in favour of source separation of recyclables. The ESA’s members include the main operators of materials recycling facilities who have not always agreed with all aspects of the Resource Association’s stance.
Voice
FCC told letsrecycle.com that the decision to join the Resource Association would give it a voice more tailored towards its concerns.
Kristian Dales, sales and marketing director at FCC, said: “Solely being a member of the ESA hasn’t allowed us to get some of the gravitas we want. Partnering with the Resource Association allows us a specific voice whereas the ESA are much broader in their mantra.”
The Resource Association, which was founded in 2010 by former Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) policy director Ray Georgeson, currently has 30 members. Together they recover and recycle an estimated 7 million tonnes of waste annually.
The incorporation of FCC will come as a boost to the Association after recently losing two of its members: Aylesford Newsprint and Eco Plastics, which both went into administration in the last 12 months. The Association is also thought to have lost Closed Loop Recycling which also entered administration at the end of April (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commenting on FCC’s decision to join the association, Mr Georgeson said he was ‘delighted’ to be working with the company.
‘Important’
He said: “It’s something we are very happy about. It’s an important extension of our membership in terms of our representation. Partnering with FCC, we are significantly well aligned for the intelligent phase down of landfill.”
Mr Georgeson added the association would continue to call on government to take more of an active interest in the waste sector, hoping that current resource minister Rory Stewart would ‘show some ambition’ and ‘put the wind in Defra’s sails’.
On the future of the Resource Association, Mr Georgeson said: “We have a couple of big members interested and we are optimistic that we will see a future expansion of the membership quite soon. We have never gone on massive recruitment exercises.”
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