Philip Hindmarsh

During the 1980’s I became aware of the damage the decade’s greedy, consumptive lifestyle was having on the earth. I wanted to ‘save the planet’, and set about a BSc (Hons) degree in Environmental Studies to find out how to do this.  After graduating I needed a way of putting what I’d learnt into practice and was fortunate to land a job with Tynedale Council in the beautiful Northumberland countryside. The post of Trainee Waste Management Officer involved me in all aspects of waste collection and cleansing. As a small authority you had to lend your hand to everything, which was good experience. The job allowed me to train towards a vocational qualification and after two years of study I passed the Diploma in Wastes Management and became a member of the then Institute of Wastes Management.

In the early 1990’s there were few recycling facilities and kerbside collections were only being trialed in select areas.I saw this as my chance to start saving the planet and the addition of ‘Recycling Officer’ to my title was welcomed (along with the modest pay rise).