By ESA Policy Team
The summer holidays are becoming a distant memory, the kids are back at school and the weather is rapidly turning autumnal – which can only mean one thing – the Resource and Waste Management (RWM) Expo is back for another year.
The event, which takes place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on the 11 and 12 September, is the largest annual exhibition for our sector in the United Kingdom with a packed schedule of speakers discussing the hot topics affecting recycling and waste management.
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) will be again exhibiting at this year’s RWM (stand no. RS-G140) so do please come and visit us, enjoy a complimentary coffee and take a load off weary feet at some point during the show. Members of our policy team will be on hand to tell you about our work programme, share insights or discuss ESA membership.
RWM looks set to be a busy show for our team, who are participating in a wide range of sessions across the two-day agenda, covering packaging; Extended Producer Responsibility; waste crime and enforcement; residual waste treatment options for the future; RDF exports, biodiversity; and the Emissions Trading Scheme.
On day one (11 September), our speaking schedule will start at 10.45 with ESA’ Head of Recycling Policy, Patrick Brighty, on the Packaging and EPR Stage participating in a session entitled Brands vs. Recyclers – Can collaboration in the packaging chain save the day?
Patrick will be focusing on the importance of good governance to ensure that the emerging packaging EPR scheme supports eco-design of packaging; as well as extolling the importance of eco-design more broadly.
ESA Executive Director, Jacob Hayler, will then be speaking on the same stage at 12.45 with IOM3 and OPRL in a session entitled pEPR & Beyond.
Also at 12.45, ESA’s Head of Regulation, Sam Corp, will be speaking on the Summit Stage in a session entitled Environment Agency – Joining the Dots – Building the intelligence picture.
In this session, Sam will explore the scale and impact of waste crime in the UK and will cover ESA’s priorities for tackling it, including the need for regulatory reform; stronger and more effective enforcement, with a focus on tackling landfill tax fraud; and the need for increased resources to tackle this £1billion problem.
At 13.15 on the EfW & Bioenergy Stage, ESA’s Head of Climate and Energy Policy, Charlotte Rule, will be discussing the future of residual waste treatment and options for delivering reliable decarbonisation.
The UK is currently in a period of substantial policy intervention for residual waste but lacks a clear and coherent strategy for how key goals to reduce waste and carbon can be achieved in practice.
The ESA has commissioned independent consultants, SLR, to examine various end treatment solutions for residual waste against key indicators including cost, carbon, and technology readiness to deliver reliable treatment of waste. In this session, Charlotte will offer a sneak-peek at some of the emerging insights from this research ahead of publication of a full report in Q4 2024.
Jacob Hayler will be returning to the stage, this time on the Energy, Fuels and Decarbonisation Keynote at 14.30 to discuss the future of European RDF exports, while Leigh Broadhurst (Chair of the ESA’s Biodiversity Working Group) will be participating, at the same time, in a panel discussion on the Summit Stage entitled Giving nature a boost: Is Biodiversity Net Gain the key to Sustainable Development?
On day two, Patrick Brighty will return to the Packaging and EPR Stage at 12.00 to reflect on the progress of Extended Producer Responsibility to date, with a focus on in the infrastructure investment needed to deliver EPR, as well as the importance of good governance to encourage investment.
Charlotte Rule will round off the ESA’s speaking engagements at RWM on the Energy, Fuels and Decarbonisation Keynote stage at 12.45, participating in a session entitled The Emissions Trading Scheme and the Energy from Waste industry: Specific Considerations and Strategies.
Speaking before the event, Charlotte Rule said: “The application of the Emissions Trading Scheme to waste is one of the biggest policy interventions in the sector since the introduction of the landfill tax, so it is essential it is implemented correctly to deliver its key purpose – to drive emissions reduction and support increased recycling.
I’m looking forward to participating in this session to help those across our sector understand what the policy is, how it relates to Energy from Waste, and what the UK ETS Authority is proposing – as well as offering an overview to operators about what is expected of them and how they can prepare for the inclusion of EfW from 2026.”
If you would like to discuss ESA membership or an aspect of the ESA’s work with one of our team at RWM, please get in touch using our contact form.
We look forward to seeing you at the event!
