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 more22 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 more16 June 2020
Resource Futures produced two guides for Zero Waste Scotland and their Resource Efficient Scotland Programme. They were designed to improve waste prevention on construction projects in Scotland, focusing on maximising re-use and promoting best practice.
Read more10 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 more21 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 more11 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 more1 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 more24 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 more20 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 more3 April 2020
Reflections on news way of working at Resource Futures under the UK coronavirus lockdown, increased connectivity and flattening the curve
Read more18 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. …
Continue reading “Through the carbon lens”
Read more13 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 more12 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 more28 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 more24 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 more23 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 more22 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 …
Continue reading “Counting carbon – tackling climate change in construction”
Read more6 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 more30 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 …
Continue reading “Construction and the fight of our lives”
Read more20 December 2019
A scoping report from WRAP sharing existing evidence on the extent of microfibre shedding from UK clothing over the life cycle.
Read more18 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 …
Continue reading “Is a sustainable Christmas possible?!”
Read more17 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 …
Continue reading “5 ways to extract value from your waste data”
Read more4 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 …
Continue reading “25 books to gift the greenies in your life”
Read more3 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 …
Continue reading “The power of community action at a local level”
Read more5 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 more14 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 more9 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 more1 October 2019
Resource Futures was commissioned by Defra to undertake a preliminary assessment of the impacts of a ban on expanded polystyrene.
Read more26 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.
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