Friday 23rd May 2008
Press Release
Celebrating professional excellence in the waste industry
Now in the second year of its new format, the CIWM Professional Awards, held at the Space Centre in Leicester last week, proved a fitting way to recognise the achievements of a host of waste industry professionals.
Presenting the awards was Ray Georgeson, Director of Policy & Evaluation for the Waste & Resources Action Programme. In his inspirational opening address, Ray emphasised how important it is that the industry nurtures the talents and individual qualities that the industry needs to meet current and future challenges.
This industry is no longer a Cinderella service, it is an integral part of the drive for a more sustainable future. If we cannot recognise and celebrate our own achievements, how can we convincingly advocate the value of our work to others,” he said. “We should have confidence and pride in the services we provide and these awards are an excellent way to recognise achievement and professionalism.”
The event then kicked off with the two newest awards. The Ben Heath Award is for the best presentation made to a CIWM meeting during the previous year and it introduced an element of competition into the proceedings by being judged on the day.
The two finalists gave shortened versions of their presentations, and it was Jim Ferguson, Operations Manager of Cleansing Services for Belfast City Council, who most impressed the judging audience. His eye opening presentation about the challenges faced by the council as they strove to improve performance ratings and significantly improve the services they provide for the 1000 km of streets that fall under their care. He narrowly edged out Cathriona Cahill and Cora Plant of RPS, who gave a paper on cost effective leachate treatment.
The second new award was the Roger Perry Award, which recognises research being carried out by CIWM members at Masters and Doctoral level. The winner was
Tim Walker, Belfast City Council, for a paper entitled ‘The role of Best Value and performance management in developing change within UK councils – an exploratory study’.
Other winners on the day were:
The James Sumner Award 2008 to enable a student or graduate CIWM member to attend an international conference went to Elizabeth Rhodes of Hyder Consulting (UK), who will be attending the Orbit 2008 Conference in the Netherlands in October this year.
The Waste Regulation Award 2007 for the best paper presented to a CIWM meeting or published in the CIWM journal during the previous year was awarded to Vasileia Alexopoulou, currently studying at Imperial College London, for her paper ‘Development of a risk based framework for compliance assessment’.
The JC Dawes Bursary 2008, established in memory of one of the founding fathers of the CIWM to provide a bursary of £2000 to allow a member to carry out research in a country other than the one in which they live, goes to Janice Frost of Lancashire City Council, who will be carrying out a study into ‘The assessment of the delivery and management of recycling and reprocessing activities at Resource Recovery parks in California and Seattle’.
The James Jackson Medal for 2007, awarded for the best formal written paper presented at a CIWM meeting or published during the previous year, went to the Defra team of Professor David Wilson, Nick Blakey, Nadine Smith, and Louise Shaxson for their paper entitled ‘Using research based knowledge to underpin waste and resources policy’.
The winner of the PEEL People’s Cup 2008, which recognises excellence in operational teamwork on site, was Ballynagran Landfill in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. Operated by Greenstar, the site was found to be well equipped, with an excellent relationship between contract staff and Greenstar staff, as well as a strong social element. With Greenstar support, the staff work with the local community to provide activities such as football coaching and life boat duties and morale on site is very high, accompanied by a high standard of operational performance.
Highly Commended was the Chineham Energy Recovery Facility in Hampshire, operated by Veolia Environmental Services.
“This has been a fantastic event where members of the Institution and representatives from industry have been able to see something of the uses to which previous award winners have put their bursaries and we have heard something of the aspirations of this year’s winners,” said Claire Poole, Education & Training Manager for CIWM.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) is the leading professional body for the waste management sector representing over 7000 individuals in the UK and overseas. Established in 1898, CIWM is a non profit-making organisation, dedicated to the promotion of professional competence amongst waste managers. CIWM seeks to raise standards for those working in and with the sector by producing best practice guidance, developing educational and training initiatives, and providing information on key waste-related issues.
2. Comprehensive information about CIWM can be found at www.ciwm.co.uk
Contacts:
Pat Jennings,
CIWM Communications Office
Tel: 01604 620426
Mob: 07912 228260
E-mail: pat.jennings@ciwm.co.uk
