Resources & Waste UK (R&WUK), a joint organisation designed to provide a unified voice for the waste industry, has been stopped by its partners the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and the Environmental Services Association (ESA) following the retirement of Director General Steve Lee.
The joint policy and influencing body was created by the two organisations in 2014 to form a single voice championing the future of resource management in the UK. In the years following its creation R&WUK commissioned and published reports including policy priorities for the incoming government in May 2015 and recommendations for secondary materials markets stabilisation.
Lee, the long-time CEO of CIWM, assumed the R&WUK role when he stepped down from CIWM in October 2016. At the time, it was explained that Lee would lead the jointly-owned company, working closely with senior managers, board members and trustees of both organisations to champion the needs and priorities of the sector.
However, Lee decided to retire in October and a statement from the organisations said that following his departure ‘CIWM and ESA have reviewed their arrangements for joint working’.
A joint statement reads: ‘While R&WUK provided a useful initial framework to build a more collaborative approach, the partnership has since developed in a number of ways and it has been decided that it can best be taken forward through other avenues.
‘The two organisations will continue to work together on high level areas of policy, including future infrastructure needs and the government’s forthcoming waste and resource strategy, but this activity will no longer be communicated through the R&WUK brand.
‘Both organisations have a strong track record across the sector and will focus on championing the potential of the sector through established channels of influence as long term plans for resources and waste take shape across the UK.’
Both CIWM and the ESA thanked Lee for his work over the three years of the body’s existence and wished him well on his retirement.
More information about R&WUK can be found on the organisation's website.
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