Blog

21 September 2018
In a sector where it is often said that there is ‘bad data and worse data’, the release of the World Bank’s data digest on global waste management – What A Waste 2.0 – is a much-needed resource to help us understand what is happening around the world. David Lerpiniere reflects on this new report and its potential impact in the global waste sector.

7 August 2018
I’d like to think that my job is a bit like the job of a detective or CSI – collecting data (evidence) on resource efficiency. Robust evidence will help to build a case. In the current cash-strapped world, it’s all about building a good business case to justify making changes or investments. But how do you construct your investigation so that you get the information you need while not blowing the budget? And is the upfront investment even worth it?

19 July 2018
Imagine a world where the only resources we have to make new stuff are recycled materials. All the DVD players, toys, domestic appliances, cars and construction products would have to be made of so-called ‘secondary materials’, materials that have had a former life, as opposed to primary materials that come directly from mineral resource or fossil fuels. What effect would this have? David Lerpiniere, Principal Consultant at Resource Futures shared his thoughts with Greenhouse PR.

19 July 2018
The plastic waste challenge is complex. There are thousands of plastic polymers, numerous additives and almost limitless applications and formats. And the list of potential solutions is almost endless, running from outright bans – through scaling up recycling or replacing everything with bioplastics – to harvesting the troublesome material from the oceans. Confused? Me too.

19 April 2018
In the last few weeks it’s been great seeing more discussion on recycling in flats. Throughout my time in the waste management industry flats have been overlooked, as the primary focus has been on providing services to kerbside properties and increasing recycling from these types of households.

22 February 2018
My five-year-old asked me what I did for a job: “Mummy writes in a newspaper. Do you write about rubbish?” It takes the elevator pitch to a whole new level. Kids have an amazing ability to question objectively in trying to understand what is going on. Our sector is complicated, fact. We work with customers to enable positive management of materials resources. And one of our most complicated topics is plastics.

1 February 2018
The consumer society thrives on a huge range of cheap, versatile plastic products, many designed for single use and spanning a range of polymer types. But such a variety makes plastic recycling hugely confusing for householders. The nuances of which plastics can or cannot be recycled is a tricky message to communicate to the public, and is further confused by regional collection variations and the influx of ‘biodegradable’ and ‘compostable’ plastics.

13 December 2017
I’ve always loved working with retailers. The scale, pace and unshakeable commercial reality make this a real challenge for a practitioner like me. If I can change behaviours or material impacts here, I’ll retire happy!

10 August 2017
Polyethylene terephthalate, or ‘PET’, is a recycling success story. It’s one of the most widely recycled plastics. It is easy to identify and therefore separate from post-consumer waste streams. 99% of UK local authorities now collect plastic bottles as part of their recycling collections, up from 80% in 2008. And it is a good example of closed-loop recycling, with an estimated third of plastic bottles collected in the UK recycled into new bottles[ii].

8 June 2017
If I had a pound for every circular economy vision piece and strategy report that I’ve read in the past five years, then……well, I’d be a rich man. Perhaps it is me or does it sometimes feel like the subject itself is circular? Recirculation of the same mantra, the definitions, the diagrams and case examples within blue-chip companies and the captains of industry. Does the circular economy warrant all this attention? Just why is it so highly prized? Well, where to start…

6 April 2017
When I started work on the Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme, or ETBPP in 1997, the clumsiness of the title said it all. The focus was heavily on compliance (at that time with the newly launched Packaging Regulations) and waste minimisation. There was little scope for supporting innovation. Eco-design was the vanguard of the brave and whilst these products hinted at an alternative future, they were exactly that, alternative and marginal.

7 March 2017
Will French, Senior Consultant at Resource Futures, says at a time of local authority budget constraints, work has become increasingly focussed on waste collection efficiency.