Trade body to give voice to reprocessing sector

The Resource Association has been formed by a group of eleven companies are organisations which have shared priorities.

These include: Scottish recycling charity Alloa Community Enterprises; recycled paper manufacturer Aylesford Newsprint; Belfast-based recycling company Bryson recycling; Coca-Cola Enterprises; packaging producer Huhtamaki (UK) Ltd; Kent Waste Partnership; May Gurney Ltd; Novelis Recycling; Plastics Sorting Ltd; Smurfit Kappa Recycling; and, Somerset Waste Partnership.

While a number of the founding members are also members of the Campaign for Real Recycling (CRR), which campaigns heavily for materials to be collected separately rather than commingled, the new association claims that it will focus on promoting the quality and usability of secondary resources as the primary issue, rather than the merits of one collection method over another.

The associations other main objectives include:

• Highlighting the reprocessing and recycling industries contribution to carbon reduction, employment and economic development.
• Putting quality and recovery of the value of secondary materials at the heart of the reprocessing industry and its role in the local economy.
• Promoting resource integrity and closed loop systems.
• Engaging with local authorities and their service providers in the delivery of better recycling services that can sustainably provide quality feedstock to manufacturers.
• Communicating the value of the industry and reconnecting people to the materials they use and the way products are made from them.

The Association will be overseen by a steering group chaired by Andy Doran of Novelis and consisting of Simon Weston from Smurfit Kappa, Chris White from Plastics Sorting Ltd, Eric Randall from Bryson Recycling, Richard Barker from anaerobic digestion company BiogenGreenfinch, Andrew Perkins, from Aylesford Newsprint, Alan Wheeler from the Textile Recycling Association and Nicola Peake from May Gurney. Consultant Ray Georgeson, a former WRAP director, has been appointed as director and will run the association from his base in Otley, West Yorkshire.

Lobbying

Initial lobbying priorities include advocating a UK-wide adoption of the Scottish Governments interim carbon measurement system and working with the UK government on a full transition to carbon-based measurement systems as soon as possible.

The association will also promote the development of End of Waste status for high quality secondary resources and advocate the development of UK Sustainable Materials Management Strategies to replace current UK waste strategies by 2020. It plans to also commission research and develop and promulgate good practice.

Association

Speaking ahead of the parliamentary launch, which is being hosted by Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland and is expected to be attended by over 100 guests, Mr Doran told letsrecycle.com how the association came about.

He said: Previously we did not have anefficient association for the reprocessing sector our role was not necessarily articulated or heard. We have been talking about setting up an association for a while and held a meeting in March 2011 where we pulled together over 30 industry stakeholders and formed a steering group.

Summing up what the association is about, Mr Doran said: It is trying to look at putting resources at the heart of what we are doing. Some of the members are part of the CRR but others are not. It is a different entity altogether with a long-term plan to steer the resources agenda. We have 11 founding members but are hoping to get more on board.