After a largely quieter summer with some beautiful sunshine, the leaves are falling from the trees, the wind is picking up and September has arrived with full force!
The beautiful sunshine is still here in part, but the quieter period of work is definitely over! Its back to full days of meetings, webinars and in person events, and of course preparation for our National Conference which is a mere 3 weeks away! There is still time to register for the event here, which brings together local authorities, waste management organisations, government and many others to showcase their services and provide valuable expertise, advice and information. Along with the presentations on Day 1 (8th October), there are a number of seminars and workshops on Day 2 covering a wide range of fascinating topics – so don’t delay, book today!
The conference will be a very special one for two reasons, firstly because we will be celebrating LARAC turning 40! Its true, for 40 years LARAC has been providing thousands of Local Authority colleagues with valuable advice, information and support, whilst representing your needs with government and other waste industry stakeholders. So that’s certainly something to celebrate!
The second reason is that it will be my last one as Chair, as I am hanging up my Chair ‘robes’ at the end of this year, making way for the next person to steer the LARAC ship. Chairing the conference is tiring but also extremely rewarding and I shall be sad to move on, but also happy that I can enjoy the conference next year from the audience and take a bit of a breather!
Last week I was busy recording a podcast with Enviroo, specifically around what the upcoming DRS scheme will mean for Local Authorities. We discussed many aspects including the costs of managing DRS materials, the potential for digital DRS and the approach that Wales are planning to take in order to include reuse within their system. Watch out for the podcast which will be available in the next few weeks.
This week, I am chairing a couple of panels at RWM in Birmingham. One specifically on food waste and another on the challenges and opportunities relating to the numerous changes that will impact collections of dry recycling over the next few years. And there are indeed many things to take into account, meaning that waste industry operators have to consider the ways in which they will collect, sort and reprocess materials in an efficient and economical way, whilst still making it convenient for consumers. This is no mean feat!
However, its onwards and upwards as always. In this industry we are very used to juggling balls and spinning plates, but with continuing collaboration we can hopefully make progress.
Looking forward to seeing you at the LARAC Conference in a few weeks time.
