NW-CWM - News & Events
"Buy Local"
Food Trade Event - January 2008, Blackburn
 On
29th January, the North West Centre for Waste Management worked
alongside the region's leading food and drink associations to host
"Buy Local 2008" at Ewood Park in Blackburn. Buy Local
is a major food trade event that brings together the very best of
the North West's food and drinks producers and encourages North
West restaurants, pubs, hoteliers and caterers to adopt an environmentally
sustainable local procurement policy.
The event ran between 10am and 1.30pm and featured
a demonstration by Nigel Haworth, head chef of the Michelin star
rated Northcote Manor.
Buy Local 2008 is supported by Made in Lancashire,
North West Fine Food, Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board,
Cumbria Tourism, Made in Cheshire, Made in Cumbria, N&W Lancashire
Chamber and the business support organisation, Nimtech. The event
has also won glowing endorsements from celebrity chefs, Anthony
Worrell Thompson and Raymond Blanc.
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Events Programme
The following events have been scheduled for
the coming months:
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Waste Awareness Certificate
(UCLan, Preston, 11th February 2008)
This one day workshop has been designed to
address issues surrounding waste, and includes topics such as:
Waste Minimisation
Waste Management
Safety & Environmental Aspects
Environmental Legislation
The event is free to eligible businesses and
will be held at UCLan between 9.00am and 4.30pm. To confirm your
attendance please e-mail your details (name, organisation &
contact details) to Nick Butters
or download an attendance
form (PDF, 83k) and fax it back to 01772 89 2926.
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Making Sense
of the WEEE Directive (UCLan, Preston, 20th February 2008)
The Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment
regulations came into effect earlier this year. This workshop explores
the issues associated with compliance and what has changed in the
government guidance since then. This event is relevant to all producers
and end users of electrical equipment and will be your guide to
compliance with the regulations.
The event is free to eligible businesses and
will be held at the Kirkham Building Room KM127 (Preston, PR1 2HE)
between 9.00am and 4.30pm. To confirm your attendance please e-mail
your details (name, organisation & contact details) to Nick
Butters or download an attendance
form (PDF, 67k) and fax it back to 01772 89 2926.
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Blackpool Food
Waste Trial
On 22nd January 2008, representatives of the
NW CWM project met with an audience of around 30 Blackpool hoteliers
and guest house owners to thank them for their participation in
a research project that examined food waste and the feasibility
of various recycling options.
 Project
advisor Shirley Newman said that the involvement of the hotels had
been invaluable and that the research had highlighted many important
issues that would inform subsequent thinking about the best ways
of dealing with waste food from trade premises.
The research was conducted in conjunction with
another ERDF funded programme - the EMPRISE Blackpool project, which
handled the collections and enabled consultants to assess the quantity
and nature of food waste discarded by typical tourism businesses.
One of its key findings was the need for food to be segregated from
other waste at the point of origin because of its tendency to contaminate
other recyclable materials such as paper, card and glass, thereby
rendering them far less valuable and undermining the commercial
viability of recycling operations.
Speaking on behalf of Blackpool Council, Cllr
Granville Heap, deputy portfolio holder for Tourism and Regeneration
thanked the businesses for their involvement and presented each
of them with a framed certificate that acknowledged their support.
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New Website Offers
Waste Management Advice for Hoteliers
Ian Buckle, a sustainability consultant working
on the North West Centre for Waste Management project, has launched
Sustainable
Hotel, a new website that provides advice and support for companies
working in the hospitality industry.
In addition to an extensive list of hints and
tips for improving energy efficiency, water use and waste management,
the Sustainable Hotel website also provides information about free
environmental reviews, developing environmental policy statements,
business benchmarking and many other valuable resources.
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NW-CWM - Supporting Local Charities
On September 4th, Alasdair Dalzel-Job of the
Centre for Waste Management gave a presentation about the NW CWM
programme to representatives of Lancashire based charities and social
enterprises. The Waste Awareness Workshop took place at the GHS
Centre in Preston - itself a registered charity and popular community
centre.
Alasdair explained the services provided through
the programme and illustrated how it can help not-for-profit organisations
to reduce costs and improve public awareness while simultaneously
enhancing their environmental performance. Subjects covered during
the event included water consumption, effective waste management
techniques, staff awareness and the demands of current legislation.
Charities and social enterprises operating
in eligible parts of the North West are invited to contact
NW CWM project staff with a view to arranging a free site visit.
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New Environmental Advisers Join
NW CWM
 The
North West Centre for Waste Management programme received a welcome
boost in May with the appointment of three expert environmental
advisers – Ian Buckle, Alasdair Dalzel-Job and Nick Butters.
The new advisers – all experienced environmental
professionals – will be spending the next sixteen months visiting
small and medium sized businesses in Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater
Manchester. Their role will be to help managers to identify cost-effective
ways of eliminating or minimising waste, consuming less water and
energy and staying on the right side of changing environmental legislation.
Ian Buckle is a sustainability consultant
with a background in environmental consulting, waste management
and business software consulting. He previously worked for SWAP
(Save Waste and Prosper) where he performed hands-on waste audits
for SME’s in the service and manufacturing sectors. He has
a degree in Environmental Science and four years ago, after several
years in industry, went back obtain a Masters degree in Environment
and Business.
Alasdair Dalzel-Job is a Project Officer working
at NW CWM. He has experience of environmental legislation and waste
management and, after a Master’s degree in Clean Technology,
worked as a regulator with the Environment Agency for two years.
Prior to the current NW CWM project, Alasdair worked on the National
Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) in the North East.
Nick Butters is the second Project Officer
working at NW CWM. Following a degree in Geography with Environmental
Management, Nick spent last two years prior to starting at the NW
CWM working as an Environmental Consultant in the asbestos industry.
“The main objectives of the programme
are to help businesses to operate more sustainably and to achieve
profitable growth,” said NIMTECH managing director, David
Bowker. “We very much appreciate that any company’s
first concern is to make a profit, so the NW-CWM project seeks to
enable businesses to make changes that will have a real and appreciable
impact on the bottom line.
“The project is not about trying to convince
firms to make changes for the sake of it; we are conscious that
whatever action we recommend must yield a return on investment –
in other words, that it will pay for itself very quickly and lead
to substantial long term savings. That’s something for which
we have a particularly good track record and now that we’ve
been joined by Nick, Ian and Alasdair, we’re able to offer
even more valuable and intensive support.”
In addition to the new advisors, the project
has also been strengthened by the arrival of Karl Williams, who
is acting head of the Centre and who takes charge of its research
function. Karl will co-ordinate University staff and partner organisations,
who will work to develop individually tailored solutions for companies
facing challenging environmental management issues.
Companies wishing to request a free environmental
review should contact Nick Butters on 01772 893 963
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CWM's Successor Project
The EU funded Centre for Waste Management programme
officially closed at the end of December 2006. Since its launch,
it has helped SME businesses throughout North and West Lancashire
to improve their environmental performance and to make substantial
reductions on their operating costs. However, it is important to
emphasise that the support available through the Centre will not
be coming to an end. A successor project has been developed and
was formally approved by the funding body in 2006. This new programme
- the North West Centre for Waste Management -
was launched in January 2007.
The North West Centre for Waste Management
is supported once again by UCLan, Nimtech and the North & Western
Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, but it will have additional partners
and technical resources thanks to the involvement of Manchester
University and Edge Hill University.
Like its predecessor, the new programme also
has its principal administrative office at UCLan and will continue
to offer environmental and waste management advice to eligible SMEs.
However, not only is the technical scope of the programme now wider
- encompassing as it does technical research and the facility to
support new R&D projects - it will also operate across a much
broader geographical area. The programme is now available to SMEs
in all areas of Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester deemed
'Fully Eligible' for ERDF funding support. (For more details about
eligibility, please click here.)
This website will be revised shortly to provide
more details of the new programme. In the meantime, companies requiring
support or information about the new programme can still contact
us at the usual address.
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New Case Studies Now On-line
To mark the end of the first phase of the CWM
programme, a series of case studies has been produced. The Case
Studies page now features several new downloadable PDF documents
as well as updates to earlier case studies.
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CWM Project Offers New Environment
Award
Companies working with the CWM to implement
various forms of waste management or environmental improvement programme
can now apply for a CWM Environmental Award. This comprises a framed
certificate and an eye-catching plaque made from recycled aluminium,
both of which are designed to inform clients and visitors about
the company's progress towards sustainability.
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