Waste Protocols Project wins National Business Award
13 November 2009
The Waste Protocols Project, a joint Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) initiative, has won the Better Regulation category at the UK's premier cross-industry awards - the National Business Awards.
The Waste Protocols team beat off 10 other finalists by proving to judges that the project is an example of better regulation - helping businesses comply with the law as simply as possible and creating a better operating environment.
Environment Agency Chief Executive Dr Paul Leinster said the award was well-deserved recognition and endorsement for an innovative approach. “The Waste Protocols Project is a great example of how we can work in partnership to benefit businesses at the same time as helping them do the right thing by the environment,” commented Dr Leinster.
"Businesses should treat waste as a valuable resource. It is good for the environment as it reduces the use of finite resources and it is good for their bottom line. Innovative approaches such as this help them do just that."
"We estimate that this collaborative work on new quality standards for waste recovery could – over the next 10 years - result in 17 million tonnes of waste being used rather than disposed and over 2 million tonnes of carbon and 14 million tonnes of raw materials being saved. Overall, this could save the businesses involved over £400 million."
Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP Chief Executive said: "This is a significant achievement and the result of a lot of hard work by industry, the Environment Agency and WRAP. The quality protocols really do make a difference to businesses, helping to generate confidence in the products they are associated with and growing the markets. This means we make better use of resources overall."
James Brathwaite CBE, Project Advisory Board Chairman at the Environment Agency, added: “The collaboration with industry is essential to the success of the project. I’m delighted on behalf of the advisory board and industry members to have received this recognition."
The Waste Protocols Project involves the examination of a series of ‘waste’ materials which currently have to comply with tight waste management controls. These wastes are largely disposed of – expensively and often unnecessarily – to landfill.
The project develops a series of protocols for each material that allows it to lose its “waste label” and instead be reclassified and recycled into quality products such as building materials and compost.
Editor's notes:
For more information on the waste protocols project please go to www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wasteprotocols
The project is funded by Defra, the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Welsh Assembly Government who all work with industry and other stakeholders to create and realise these achievements.
About the Environment Agency:
The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It's our job to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today's society, so that tomorrow's generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world. More information on the Environment Agency’s work can be found at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
About WRAP:
- WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
- Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Working in seven key areas (construction, retail, manufacturing, organics, business growth, behavioural change, and local authority support). WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
- More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on www.wrap.org.uk
About the National Business Awards: The National Business Awards, sponsored by Orange, is the UK's premier, cross-industry business awards programme. It employs the services of over 200 judges per year who between them undertake eight weeks of scrutiny and judging. There are 12 categories. Each panel is made up of three-to-five judges (typically a financial expert, an academic and a practitioner in the subject matter, an entrepreneur and a specialist from the sponsoring organisation).
www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk
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