Awards presenter, ITV newscaster Mary Nightingale, said: “There are many inspirational ideas represented by our 27 finalists today. But, the ideas are one thing. The delivery of these ideas and achieving recycling targets needs inspirational people.
 Mary Nightingale presenting the partnership trophy to Graham Warren, Viridor regional director for the south east, and representatives of the Suffolk Recycling Consortium and Virdidor |
“I would like to congratulate all the finalists here today and I would also like to say a huge well done too, to their colleagues many of whom who have also played a part in the delivery of successful projects.”
Mrs Nightingale said she thought that recycling and waste management “had truly come of age” and was aware in her news work of the importance of global warming.
The keynote speaker for the awards, organised by letsrecycle.com and held at London's Savoy Hotel, was Shadow Environment Secretary Oliver Letwin. He commented: “It is events like this, which celebrate innovation in recycling and waste management that help spread the word about the importance of waste to a wider audience.” For more details of Mr Letwin's speech, see letsrecycle.com story.
Winners of the awards are:
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Barnet – local authority initiative, sponsored by Abitibi Consolidated Recycling Europe
The move by the London borough of Barnet to impose a legal requirement on residents to recycle won the council the award for local authority initiative of the year.
The judges noted that while the decision to impose a legal duty had provoked some controversy, they recognised the bold approach by Barnet to recycling and the fact that the council had put tremendous effort in to winning residents' approval.
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Kevin Pickaver – local authority recycling champion, sponsored by Defra
Local authority recycling champion of the year award was the toughest of decisions, said Jeff Cooper, chair of the judges. Mr Cooper said that he thought that there could easily have been more than three finalists and all three had worked marvellously to deliver and improve recycling services.
The winner of local authority recycling champion of the year was Kevin Pickaver, project manager for Rushcliffe borough council who has overseen a rise in recycling from 7.6% in 2001 to 54% last year. The other finalists were Steve Bakewell, head of environmental operations at Vale Royal borough council, and Ashfield district council's Edd de Coverly, recycling project manager with Mark Beagley, waste minimisation and recycling officer.
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Wineflair – High Street recycling champion – sponsored by Severnside
The Northern Ireland firm Wineflair won this award for implementing a recycling scheme throughout its 43 stores. Most stores can recycle up to 100% of their materials waste with work continuing on the development of solutions for food waste and residuals.
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Katrina Alexander – Commercial recycling champion, sponsored by Valpak
Judges decided to include the entry from Bullingdon prison within this category because of the wide range of wastes involved at the prison. Ms Alexander won praise for the high level of her involvement in implementing recycling schemes and helping prisoners gain CIWM certificates in waste awareness which could help their employment opportunities in the future.
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Natures Way Foods – commercial waste management initiative, sponsored by Envirocomms
The company, which is a major supplier of prepared salds, won for the achievements it has made in recycling its waste products, from cardboard and plastic waste through to Wellington boots and even worn-out conveyor belts.
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Shropshire county council – Innovation in design of a waste management facility, sponsored by the ESTET Trust
The all-round environmentally friendly features of the waste management facility at Battlefield Enterprise Park near Shrewsbury caught the attention of judges. The site includes geothermal heating and the use of rainwater for washdown and other facilities.
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Daniel Frost and Edward Halkett of Daventry district council – Collection crew of the year, sponsored by SITA UK
Daniel and Edward were selected by judges for the award because of their exemplary and reliable approach to the provision of a dry recyclables collection service to rural parts of the Daventry area. In particular they noted the pair's excellent timekeeping and their general high standard of approach to their work.
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Viridor and Suffolk Recycling Consortium – Resource management industry and local authority partnership, sponsored by PaperChain
This unique partnership has led to dramatic increases in recycling levels through an alternative route to procuring a waste contract. Judges were impressed by the contract procedure adopted and that the programme had helped push up recycling rates.
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Somerset county council – CA site of the year, sponsored by Transform
Judges chose Highbridge household waste recycling centre has been consistently achieving high levels of recycling, averaging 80% for 2004/05. The site operates a “meet and greet” policy and provides for the reuse of rainwater.
Almost 140 entries were received for the 2005 awards, which are aimed at showcasing innovation, dedication and success in recycling and sustainable waste management and are supported by organisations including the Environmental Services Association, the Environment Agency and the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers.
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