Jeff Cooper - President

Jeff’s career has been with the Greater London Council, then with its successor, the London Waste Regulation Authority, and currently within the Environment Agency. He has a national brief working with Government Departments on producer responsibility, including packaging, ELVs and WEEE.

Throughout his career he has sought to enhance professional standards of waste management through extensive writing and presentations, and the development and delivery of training courses and seeks to ensure CIWM is the main provider of accredited training courses and qualifications, especially for entry level to waste management.

Jeff believes that CIWM needs to work closely with industry, and both local and central government to provide professional leadership to manage waste and resources more sustainably for the future. Through the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and organisations such as  LARAC and Waste Watch, both of which he chaired for 10 years, he has been able to influence key stakeholders. 

In the future Jeff aims to build on his experience within the CIWM and ISWA (where he is in his second term as chairman of ISWA’s Scientific and Technical Committee), and to use those close connections within the European Commission, UNEP and other organisations to benefit the Institution. 

Hugh Hoather - Senior Vice President

I have been actively involved in the waste industry in both the public and private sector for over 30 years. From 1983 to 1991 I was the County Waste Disposal Officer for Cheshire County Council during which time I was responsible for policy planning, operations and regulatory control of the industry. In 1991 I took up the role of Managing Director of 3C Waste, the company created by the County Council, and over the following 7 years developed it into a significant regional disposal company with considerable assets and contracts. When the company was sold in 1998 I remained in the private sector as a director of my own waste management company.

Having joined CIWM in 1972, I was made a Fellow in 1991 and have served continuously as a Centre Councillor in the North West since 1983. For a number of years I have been a member of the Fellows Assessment Panel. In January 2005 I was elected to serve on the General Council, and in 2006 I was honoured to be elected as Junior Vice-President of the Institution.

I wish to devote more time to helping the Institution to strengthen its position nationally and internationally as the leading professional body for wastes and resource management, and although I now have the opportunity to do this as a member of the Presidential Team, gaining membership of the Executive Committee will allow me to participate actively in policy formation and stewardship of the Institution.

Keith Simmonite - Immediate Past President

Keith Simmonite spent 40 years working for Sheffield City Council in its Wastes Management Department. During this time he had direct managerial responsibility for Street Cleansing & Lighting, Refuse Collection, Recycling, Waste Treatment, including Pulverisation and Waste to Energy facilities and final disposal to Landfill. He played a leading role in establishing Sheffield as the first recycling city and oversaw the introduction of trial kerbside collection systems and post consumer plastics collections. These systems have since been widely replicated.

For the last 12 years of his employment with Sheffield he was the Chief Officer for the Waste Management Service, both as client & contractor. In addition he had responsibility for Grounds Maintenance, Building Cleaning, Catering, Security, Vehicle Maintenance and Special Transport for children and adults with disabilities. He was a Council nominated Director of Sheffield Heat and Power from its inception in 1987 until retirement from the Council in 1997. During this time the company grew into the largest business of its type in the United Kingdom supplying district heating to a wide range of public and private sector companies and electricity to the National Grid.

Keith joined the predecessor organisation to CIWM in 1967 and was made a Fellow in 1991. A founder member of the Thermal Treatment Special Interest Group, he is a members of the North East Centre Council, a General Councillor and a Director and currently Chairman of the Institution’s trading company, IWM Business Services Ltd.

Since leaving Sheffield Council Keith has been Managing Director of Paladin Consultancy Services specialising on strategic waste policy guidance to a small number of prestigious clients.