How ocean plastics will change the waste stream forever
George Cole, Director
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, Senior 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
By 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
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, Director
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 moreMarine plastic pollution in Scotland
George Cole, Director
12 February 2020
Research on the plastic value chain in Scotland to better understand this landscape and the potential for intervention to address marine plastic pollution.
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 moreComposition analysis of commercial and industrial waste in Wales
Coralline Dundon, Senior Consultant
24 January 2020
Using up to date composition data of mixed residual commercial and industrial waste in Wales to estimate the proportion of the residual waste produced in Wales which could be avoided through recycling or composting.
Read moreQuantifying the composition of municipal waste: WRAP report
Peter Wills, Evidence Lead / Principal Consultant
23 January 2020
WRAP, on behalf of DEFRA, commissioned Resource Futures to conduct research into the composition of residual waste from two waste streams: non-household waste collected by local authorities and non-household waste collected by private companies.
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 moreRecycling Quality Information Point (ReQIP)
Sam Reeve, CEO
6 January 2020
The Recycling Quality Information Point (ReQIP) project brought together information from a wide range of reprocessors about their quality requirements for the recyclates they received, and highlighted what they classed as ‘prohibited materials’ which could affect the integrity of their raw material.
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 moreEvidence on textile-derived microfibres
George Cole, Director
20 December 2019
A scoping report from WRAP sharing existing evidence on the extent of microfibre shedding from UK clothing over the life cycle.
Read moreIs a sustainable Christmas possible?!
Sarah Hargreaves, Behaviour Change Lead / Principal 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 / Principal 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
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, Senior 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.
Read moreResource Futures led the primary data gathering fieldwork for WRAP’s 2019 Retail Survey. We surveyed a range of own-brand and branded food products to identify and record data which influence the amount of avoidable food waste in the home.
Read morePlastic free periods will not be universal without shame-free periods
Kate Chambers, Senior Consultant
14 October 2019
As Environmenstrual Week kicks off for 2019, Kate Chambers explores the issues around #plasticfreeperiods from consumer choice to flushing behaviours, marine litter and the rise of reusables.
Read moreThe hidden environmental cost of artificial sports pitches
Katie Powell, Junior Consultant at Resource Futures
9 October 2019
The arrival of the artificial grass pitch was a major leap forward for sports enthusiasts active in colder, wetter climes, used to scrabbling around on muddy pitches. Fast forward forty or so years and we now have third generation artificial turf pitches that have overcome the ‘performance problems’ associated with early solutions. But at what cost?
Read moreEconomic assessment of a potential ban on expanded polystyrene
Carla Worth Del Pino. Senior Consultant
1 October 2019
Resource Futures was commissioned by Defra to undertake a preliminary assessment of the impacts of a ban on expanded polystyrene.
Read moreIs ‘materiality assessment for plastics’ the answer?
George Cole, Director
26 September 2019
Pressure is mounting for organisations to announce how they will respond to the ‘plastics’ issue. Many of our clients are looking to reduce their plastics consumption and find new solutions that benefit the environment. But where should they start? Senior Consultant, George Cole, explores the materiality assessment as a potential approach.
Read moreOur fashion habit is out of control
Carla Worth Del Pino. Senior Consultant
23 September 2019
The negative impact of fast fashion is an issue that is close to my heart. I worry about it a lot… In fact, I even wrote a poem about it! We have a warped relationship with textiles. In the UK, we consume more new clothing than any other European country, send 11 million garments to landfill every week and many of us feel embarrassed to be seen in the same outfit multiple times!
Read moreIt’s time to think global
David Lerpiniere, Director
17 September 2019
David Lerpiniere, Head of Waste, Resources and Development at Resource Futures, says it’s no surprise there are growing numbers of sufferers from “environmental despair”. He says it’s time we look beyond UK shores. The Amazon is burning. Our rivers are polluted. The oceans littered with our plastics. It’s no surprise that there are growing numbers …
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Read more5 handy resources for your #ZeroWaste journey
Sarah Hargreaves, Behaviour Change Lead / Principal Consultant
4 September 2019
As a specialist consultant in resources and waste, we are called upon to help with everything from minimising construction waste to reducing plastic packaging footprints. We’re also a committed team (some may say geeks!) who take waste pretty seriously and do our utmost to #reduce #reuse #recycle wherever we can. Here are a few ideas and resources to help you on your way this #ZeroWasteWeek.
Read more1 July 2019
This briefing paper for Tearfund was co-authored by Resource Futures. Through case studies from Africa and Asia it demonstrates how we can effectively respond to challenges of waste management and scale up approaches that are already delivering results.
Read moreThe final straw – a ban on single use plastics but how did we get here?
Bernie Thomas, Principal Consultant
18 June 2019
As the dust settles on the Government’s announcement to ban plastic drinking straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers and moves on to consider further market restrictions for plastic plates, cutlery and polystyrene containers, Principal Consultant, Bernie Thomas considers the journey that has led us here.
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