From waste and circular economy training for prison offenders to student reuse campaigns and the latest vehicle safety initiatives, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management’s (CIWM) Sustainability & Resource Industry Awards 2016 today showcased the very best in sustainable practices, technology innovation and behaviour change. The winners were announced at an awards lunch at the London Marriot Grosvenor Square, hosted by impressionist, actor and environmentalist Alistair McGowan.
Big brands are increasingly seizing opportunities to improve their resource efficiency and environmental credentials and this year it was Jaguar Land Rover and Aldi UK’s turn to enjoy the spotlight. Jaguar walked away with the Opensky Data Systems Award for demonstrating Project Innovation for its Recycled Aluminium Car project. Meanwhile Aldi UK’s work with its supply chain on responsible sourcing and a range of customer-facing environmental and health initiatives bagged the ReFood Corporate Sustainability Business of the Year Award.
Once again the construction industry demonstrated its strong resource efficiency credentials. Network Rail took the Hills Waste Solutions Best Recycling Project Award for its £60 million refurbishment and upgrade of the Glasgow Queen Street Tunnel; Costain Skanska won WRAP’s Best Reuse & Waste Prevention Project Award for the JV C412 Bond Street Station (Crossrail) project, and Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd is this year’s winner of the National Federation of Demolition Contractor’s Most Sustainable Construction & Demolition Project Award for the Verde SW1 development in Victoria, London. Also serving this sector, bulk soil disposal, aggregate supply and waste management experts Mick George Ltd won top billing to scoop the Catalyst Corporate Finance Waste and Resources Fast 50 Award.
A Familiar Figure…
It is not just the big corporates who can make a difference though. The 2016 winner of the AMCS Group Industry Leader of the Year Award is a familiar figure to many, having been involved in the sector for over 35 years. Ray Georgeson MBE cut his teeth as a Friends of the Earth volunteer and has gone on to help shape the modern policy arena for waste and resources through his work at Waste Watch, WRAP, Defra and most recently the Resource Association.
Health & Safety remains a priority for the sector and vehicle safety took centre stage this year. South Staffordshire Council & Biffa Municipal Ltd won the GJF Delivering Health & Safety Best Practice Award for their Safer Driving Campaign to raise awareness across the refuse collection operations of the risks of dangerous driving. Brakesafe, a ground breaking automatic failsafe system developed by Vision Techniques, won the vehicle safety and security firm the Hako Machines Best Innovation in Vehicle, Plant & Equipment Award.
Changing consumer behaviour on waste is equally important, and Hubbub’s Neat Streets litter campaign on London’s Villiers Street stole the Communications Campaign Award, sponsored by env23. The project combined a series of creative approaches including chewing gum artwork and a voting ‘ballot bin’ for cigarette stubs. And it was a win/win for reuse at Bangor University, which won the Best Resources Project by Facilities Management Award, sponsored by UKWSL, for its partnership initiative with the Sustainability Lab and BHF to deliver furniture reuse as part of the renovation of the halls of residence.
Finally, the winner of the new Roger Hewitt Learning & Development Award really upped the ante on vocational training. Milton Keynes College runs offender learning in 28 prisons across the Midlands and South Central regions. The Offender Learning Team was keen to introduce a new skill set to learners and change the perceptions of its partners within the prisons regarding waste, recycling and sustainability.
“The high number of excellent entries this year, from a wide range of different organisations, really shows how much exciting work is happening in the field of waste and resource management. The winners well deserve our congratulations, but the award shortlists show the breadth of the innovation and depth of commitment to this agenda across the board,” says CIWM’s chief executive Dr Colin Church.
Recognising Professional Development
Celebrating learning in waste and resource management CIWM also used the ceremony to recognise professional development, learning and knowledge sharing, with a number of bursaries, research grants and awards.
The Roger Perry Award for Best Research Paper recognises research being carried out by CIWM Members. This year the award went to Colin Williams for a paper related to his Masters’ thesis and entitled ‘An investigation into the contributory factors to contamination in household recyclate collected by local authorities in England and the impacts of this contamination’.
The Waste Regulation Award is presented for the best formal written paper on a waste regulation topic. The winner this year is John Galvin MBE, who spent a number of years working as Defra’s policy lead on waste regulation, for his paper entitled ‘A two-part perspective on tackling and preventing waste crime and entrenched poor performance in the waste industry’.
With challenging housing stock and hard-to-reach audiences being a key priority in the drive to improve performance, this year’s James Jackson Award is timely in recognising a formal written paper in this field. The winning paper, ‘Source segregation and food waste prevention activities in high density households in a deprived urban area’, was co-authored by Professor Ian Williams and Associate Professor Peter Shaw from the University of Southampton and former University of Southampton MSc student and waste management consultant Andrea Mara Rispo.
The coveted PEEL People’s Cup, recognising team excellence in the operation of licensed or permitted waste facilities, this year goes to Suffolk Energy from Waste facility, designed and built by Suez in partnership with Suffolk County Council. The team, consisting of 47 members of staff including two apprentices, ensures the safe and smooth running of the facility.
“A core part of CIWM’s role is to encourage and uphold professional standards, knowledge and competence in our sector and these winners demonstrate these important qualities,” says CIWM chief executive Dr Colin Church.
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