Community RePaint applies a coat of resilience in the face of Covid-19
Debbie Worthington, Community RePaint Network Coordinator
25 March 2021
Despite the challenges of 2020, the Community RePaint Network adapted to new ways of working in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and even welcomed four new schemes. Find out how schemes were able to continue operating and distributing reusable paint to their communities.
Read moreSupporting stakeholders to work safely through the Covid-19 pandemic
Peter Wills, Evidence Lead, Senior Consultant
23 March 2021
With fieldwork put on hold in 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, our evidence team lead and appointed Health and Safety Advisor, Peter Wills, applied his skills and knowledge to help staff work safely from home and to get client projects safely up and running.
Read moreDiving back into the Deposit Return Scheme: reactions and expectations
Will French, Waste Services Optimisation Lead, Principal Consultant
12 March 2021
With the second DRS consultation imminent, our Principal Consultant Will French revisits the first round: how it was received by local authorities, key developments since then, and what we can expect next.
Read moreWorking for a B Corp: prioritising people and planet
Katie Powell, Consultant
4 March 2021
To celebrate B Corp Month, Resource Futures Consultant Katie Powell shares her experience of working for a business that prioritises people and planet.
Read moreWishing you a sustainable Christmas and a green New Year
Olivia Sweeney, Junior Consultant
23 December 2020
In a challenging year for so many, the environment and sustainability may not be at the heart of our choices, but it is possible. Our Junior Consultant Olivia Sweeney shares her tips for a sustainable Christmas and a green New Year.
Read moreDoughnuts and selfies: why accessible language is key to the circular economy
Kate Chambers, Senior Consultant
2 December 2020
Listening to Kate Raworth use familiar language to explain the concept of Doughnut Economics, Resource Futures Consultant, Carla Worth, realised the importance of words in opening the circular economy conversation to novices and experts alike.
Read moreThe rise of reusables
Hanna Plant, Senior Consultant
18 November 2020
The new ban on some single use items on 1 October 2020, following Scotland’s ban in 2019, signifies the growing commitment across the UK to address single use plastics. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, we are faced with a fresh onslaught of single use plastics being used to tackle the spread of the virus. Senior Consultant Hanna Plant looks at where that leaves reusables, and what the future may hold.
Read moreCircularity hidden in plain sight
Emma Burlow, Head of Circular Economy
13 November 2020
The most common thing I’m asked for when presenting is examples of successful circular economy models to help prove the business case. This request suggests people remain to be convinced. Similarly, its regularly suggested that circularity in business is a ‘leap of faith’ or ‘high risk’ and that consumer demand is not yet there to …
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Read moreTime to de-mystify plastic film
Peter Wills, Evidence Lead, Senior Consultant
2 October 2020
Pete Wills, Senior Consultant at Resource Futures, has been looking at the emerging opportunities made available by new technology to help identify post-production and post-consumer plastics in the field, and in particular plastic film. He considers the challenges for the waste sector and how this advanced technology will improve the identification of plastic types and thus aid their sorting, disposal and routes to recycling.
Read moreBurning issues – when health fears don’t drive change
David Lerpiniere, Director
30 September 2020
David Lerpiniere, Head of Global Resources and Waste Policy at Resource Futures, says we must redouble efforts to create a global circular economy, not only for the health of our global citizens, but of our planet and our future.
Read moreChanging fashion behaviours – Covid-19 and beyond
Katie Powell, Consultant
24 August 2020
Consultant Katie Powell’s new found love of sewing during lockdown has taken her on a sustainability journey looking at how we can minimise the environmental impact of the clothes we buy.
Read moreA new, improved normal for HWRCs?
Jenny Robinson, Senior Consultant
5 August 2020
Jenny Robinson, Senior Consultant at Resource Futures, has been talking to her many contacts within local authorities about how they have been responding to new ways of working in response to Covid-19 safety measures – both for their staff and the public – at HWRCs. What can local authorities learn from each other and which of these new ways of working will become the norm in future?
Read moreChanging food waste behaviours – Covid-19 and beyond
Fiona Jarvis, Consultant
22 June 2020
Fiona Jarvis considers how new patterns in food waste behaviour are beginning to emerge under lockdown, suggesting the way in which we value food has changed. Can the current Covid-19 crisis help to ignite a long-awaited food waste revolution?
Read moreIs there a “new normal” for materials’ markets?
Abigail Mason, Senior Consultant
10 June 2020
Consultant Abby Mason considers how the impact of Covid-19 could shape recycling in the UK and what it will mean for materials markets in the future.
Read moreGetting HWRC communications right
Laura Snoulton, Principal Consultant
21 May 2020
With a plethora of guidance available to help local authorities re-open their Household Waste Recycling Centres, Senior Consultant Laura Snoulton identifies the key communications areas to help councils ensure a smooth transition when re-opening.
Read moreHow ocean plastics will change the waste stream forever
George Cole, UK Policy Lead, Principal Consultant
11 May 2020
These extraordinary times are giving us an opportunity to reflect on some important issues, and how we need to place our environment at the centre of building a better future together. Here, Senior Consultant, George Cole, looks at how ocean plastics will drive part of the change that is needed.
Read moreSwitching to washable nappies – when the shelves are laid bare
Sally Scholefield, Consultant / Designer
1 May 2020
Consultant Sally Scholefield considers how shortages of disposable nappies in the shops during the Covid-19 crisis have contributed to a surge in parents making the switch to reusables.
Read moreCovid-19: keeping waste and recycling collections running in difficult times
Jenny Robinson, Senior Consultant
24 April 2020
Local authorities and their contractors have risen to the challenge of managing waste in these difficult times and are doing a great job of maintaining services.
Read moreData overload
Matt Polaine, Principal Consultant
20 April 2020
Matt Polaine, Principal Consultant in Circular Economy, says we must look past the excess of information competing for our individual and collective attention to visualise new ways of solving global problems – and take inspiration from visionaries of the past.
Read moreResource Futures locks down, and connects in
Hanna Plant, Senior Consultant
3 April 2020
Reflections on news way of working at Resource Futures under the UK coronavirus lockdown, increased connectivity and flattening the curve
Read moreThrough the carbon lens
Will French, Waste Services Optimisation Lead, Principal Consultant
18 February 2020
The climate emergency might be just the catalyst the waste industry needs says Will French, Principal Consultant at Resource Futures. It is time to embrace the drive for measuring the carbon footprint of waste and the advances that may bring. There is a new line cropping up in local authority waste collection and treatment optimisation models. …
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Read moreHow the private sector can tackle marine litter
George Cole, UK Policy Lead, Principal Consultant
13 February 2020
To date, there has been a focus on the consumer’s role and responsibility in relation to marine litter. But our research has found that this pollution stems from decisions made further up the supply chain, and that the private sector has great potential to help tackle this problem.
Read more“Siri, where can I return this bottle?”
Bethan Jones, Director
28 January 2020
Bethan Jones, Head of Behaviour Change at Resource Futures says there’s a “gaping hole” in the Resources and Waste Strategy debate. Particularly when it comes to deposit return schemes.
Read moreCounting carbon – tackling climate change in construction
Allan Sandilands, Circular Economy Lead, Principal Consultant
22 January 2020
While the climate emergency is omnipresent in day to day life, that ‘emergency’ does not seem to have incited the endlessly pragmatic, can-do people of the construction sector into action. The figures speak volumes. Construction and/or buildings account for a staggering: • 1/2 of all extracted materials • 1/2 of all energy consumption • 1/3 …
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Read moreConstruction and the fight of our lives
Allan Sandilands, Circular Economy Lead, Principal Consultant
30 December 2019
“This is the fight of our lives” says Ovais Sarmand, Dep Exec Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “Every single person needs to make this a priority in the way they operate in the world.” It’s clear that there are early signs that we are starting to wake up to the threat of climate …
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Read moreIs a sustainable Christmas possible?!
Sarah Hargreaves, Senior Consultant
18 December 2019
Christmas is not known as the most sustainable of times, being more commonly associated with excess – in terms of food, waste and consumerism. So is a sustainable Christmas actually possible? We’ve been making small changes at home over the past few years and this year it definitely feels like there’s been a positive shift …
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Read more5 ways to extract value from your waste data
Peter Wills, Evidence Lead, Senior Consultant
17 December 2019
Our teams help local authorities and businesses across the UK to find out what items and materials they are disposing of. These representative waste composition analysis studies provide not just insight into the materials that make up our waste, but also insight into the average volume of waste per house or per premises, which sheds …
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Read more25 books to gift the greenies in your life
Elena Suckling, Junior Consultant
4 December 2019
From plastic-free living to Greta Thunberg and growing your own veg, the team at Resource Futures have compiled their favourite books on all things eco this Christmas. Whether you have an aspiring business owner, an enthusiastic young dreamer or know someone who simply wants to do their bit, this Christmas book guide offers hints and …
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Read moreThe power of community action at a local level
Jane Stephenson, Non - Executive Director
3 December 2019
This week, Resource Futures has handed over the care of the CAG Oxfordshire Project to the local project itself. We’ve been working with the team over the past two years to consult with the network and set up the project as a new entity, a Community Benefit Society, so that it can take forward the …
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Read moreA 60 second summary of WEEE in 2019 and what’s planned for 2020
Archana Pisharody, Consultant
5 November 2019
Archana Pisharody, Consultant at Resource Futures gives an update on what has been happening in the world of WEEE and what is on the horizon for 2020.
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