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Welcome to our Autumn issue ! The aim of our Newsletter is to help keep you in touch with what is happening in our CIWM regional centre and highlight waste and resources news and events in Wales. It is also your opportunity to share information with all our members across the country. So why not contribute? Tell us what you want to read in our next newsletter and send your suggestions by 10th January 2017 to celine.anouilh@ciwm.co.uk. Thank you to all those who have contributed to this issue.

CIWM Cymru Wales Christmas Event Don’t delay, book your place now! The CIWM Cymru Wales Christmas Event will run on Friday 2nd December at the Park Inn City Centre, Cardiff.The event will include an afternoon seminar looking at wastes and resources management beyond Wales, with talks on WEEE exports from new CIWM President Professor Margaret Bates, textiles exports by Rebecca Colley-Jones from the Sustainability Lab, helping countries with no waste collections by Mike Webster from WasteAid UK. Then we will mingle and catch up over a cocktail at the drink reception at18:30 before a 3 course dinner with surprise entertainment and annual charity raffle, this year in aid of WasteAid UK. This event is your opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends from around

Wales, to meet and network with the Welsh Waste and Resources Management Industry. All the key players will be here (including our passionate new CIWM President Prof. Margaret Bates), it’s an event not to miss! Bookings are open HERE. We are also looking for sponsors for this event so if you’re interested in promoting your company, please get in touch with us (celine.anouilh@ciwm.co.uk) and we’ll tailor a package to suit your needs.We look forward to meeting you on the 2nd of December at what promises to be a fantastic get-together!

The New Faces of CIWMLast Tuesday, saw the inauguration of CIWM’s new President, Professor Margaret Bates in the Terrace Pavilion of the House of Commons. Margaret used the occasion to praise the industry and emphasise its impact on our everyday lives: “The waste and resource sector is an amazing sector to be part of; it is both friendly and supportive, and innovative and cutting edge… We persuade a large number of people every day to think about their waste, rinse it and put it out separately for recycling even though there is no direct benefit to them at all – can you think of another area that could make similar claims?”However, in outlining the themes for her presidential year, Professor Bates highlighted the fact that there is much more to be done on waste prevention and reuse: “Although the ways in which we treat and recycle waste are constantly improving, I am concerned that we focus too much on these aspects of the Waste Hierarchy without sufficient consideration of the options at the top, which will, I believe, be essential to delivering on a circular economy – whatever our UK version of a circular economy may be.” Making the case for a renewed focus on reuse, Professor Bates took the opportunity to launch the CIWM’s latest report “Reuse in the UK – a ‘State of the Nations Report’”. Dr Jane Beasley outlined the key points of the report, which provides a detailed snapshot of the current landscape and the different motivations and types of relationships that drive reuse. Dr Beasley emphasised the good work being done, which is captured in the report’s case studies, as well as the challenges, including the importance of reuse in alleviating poverty. Many of the good practice case studies used are from Wales, demonstrating the importance Wales places on reuse. The evening event was also the opportunity to say our farewell to Steve Lee who led the Institution for the last 13 years and welcome Dr Colin Church as the new CIWM Chief Executive. Ray Georgeson, Chief Executive of the Resource Association gave a warm tribute to our former leader for his dedication, commitment and long services to the industry, finishing with a Leeesque “5-4-3-2-1 Bravo” leading to a blushing Steve and a well-deserved standing ovation.Our warm welcome to Margaret and Colin who we look forward to meeting in Wales and our best wishes to you Steve!

Sustainable management of waste and natural resources

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Have Your Say in Sustainable Development ReviewWhat sustainability means in Wales, and how the private, public and voluntary sectors can work together to achieve it, is changing. In 2015 the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (WFG) became law. The Act creates a definition in law of sustainable development and puts in place one shared vision for the well-being of Wales. Wales is committed to maintaining its position as a global leader in Sustainable Development. Through improving their sustainability, organisations can enjoy a range of benefits – from savings on things like energy bills, right through to ensuring our places of work and communities are happier, healthier and more prosperous than before. Being able to demonstrate sustainability credentials is rapidly becoming something that organisations are asked to do to secure customers and win work, meaning this topic is of commercial, as well as environmental, social and cultural, importance.

The Welsh Government is committed to supporting organisations to understand and realise the benefits of working in line with sustainable development principles. It has commissioned Databuild to engage with businesses, the public and third sector, to understand what Welsh Government can do to help them become more sustainable. The Welsh Government wish to understand how funded support for sustainable development can be more effective at driving change and encouraging organisations to adopt sustainability at the core of their ways of working, and more aligned to the Well-being of Future Generations Act. This will include an examination of the existing Sustainable Development Charter. The review will culminate in the Welsh Government signing off the designing of a new programme of support to be launched in 2017.Have your say:• Welsh organisations are being invited to supply evidence at workshops, events and surveys taking place in October and November. To register interest in participating in the review, email your details to charterreview@data-build.co.uk

• To complete a short online survey in relation to the future of support for sustainable development in Wales, visit: http://tiny.cc/SDshortenglish (in English) http://tiny.cc/SDCymraeg (in Welsh)• For updates / news on this review, details of events to attend, please visit the review website or follow the SD charter twitter

5p Carrier Bag Charge Turns 5! On 1st October 2011 Wales became the first country in the United Kingdom to introduce a minimum charge of 5p on all single use carrier bags. In the intervening five years the policy has resulted in a significant reduction in the use of these types of bags and an increase in support among consumers for the charge. Following this success, other countries across the UK have adopted similar policies.A recent study published by Cardiff University revealed:

• Of 1,143 shoppers observed leaving four supermarkets in Cardiff, only 14% were seen to be carrying out their shopping in just single use bags (compared to 57% using bags for life).

• Only a small percentage of shoppers surveyed in Wales said they now “often/ always” buy single use carriers when doing their main food shopping.

Support for the charge in Wales had increased from 75% to 80% over the period of the study. The Welsh Government’s own review of the charge, published earlier this year also identified positive environmental benefits from the charge including:

• Two-thirds (66%) of those surveyed agreed with the statement ‘The charge has helped to reduce littering in my local authority area’.

• Due to the significant shift in demand away from single use bag varieties to re- usable bag types (plastic or fabric), it is estimated that benefits of between £0.9 million and £1.3 million have been achieved for the period October 2011– January 2015.

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said: “We were proud to become the first country in the UK to introduce a small charge for the single use of carrier bags. We introduced the policy with the intention of reducing litter, improving the appearance of our communities and influencing consumer behaviour. I think we can all agree it has been a resounding success. This is an area where, along with our recycling rates, Wales truly leads the way. In introducing the charge in 2011 we were the pioneers of a policy with multiple benefits which has now been welcomed across the UK. We are now looking at how we can build on the success of the charge. New powers in the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 will open the way for further developments to enable Wales to take the lead in recycling and re-use across Europe. Keep Wales Tidy has also welcomed the impact of the policy. Chief Executive Lesley Jones said: “I’m delighted that Wales is leading the way in this type of behaviour change- it’s critical that we change our ways to help improve the environment and communities that we live in. We can’t continue to live in a ‘throw-away’ society and so it’s crucial that everyone realises the negative impact that plastic and other litter has on our communities. With the right mix of education, enforcement, awareness raising and collaboration- we can all contribute to a safer, cleaner and healthier Wales for now and for the future.”

As the human race has transitioned into the 21st century, we have come to realise the impact of human activity on our geo-environment (land and oceanic contamination, greenhouse gas emissions, accelerated climate change etc.). This project investigated the impact of varying amounts of lignin in municipal solid waste (MSW) on methane generation in landfills. Lignin is a complex 3-D heteropolymer containing numerous acid-resistant carbon-carbon and ether links (Bugg et al., 2010*). Due to lignin’s natural resistance to bio-degradation, the life-cycle of a landfill can be up to 80+ years and as such lignin negatively affects methane generation in landfills. As it is highly oxidised, not many microbes possess the capability to degrade lignin. However, white-rot fungi are capable of doing so via the release of peroxidase enzymes. In this study manganese peroxidase (MnP) was used to degrade lignin and investigate its effect on methane generation as the quantification of this process has not been fully investigated. Experimental Setup In-depth research was carried out into the characteristics of MSW and the bio-chemical composition of the different fractions. Synthetic MSW samples were prepared with varying amounts of lignin and degraded with the action of MnP. The quantity of lignin was altered to monitor the effect it has on methane generation; therefore, this was the only variable. The bioreactors (see photo on the right) were made up of conical flasks with rubber-bungs and fittings to maintain an air-tight system which would also allow sampling of methane. The bioreactors contained the synthetic MSW, MnP and were also kept in a water-bath for optimal enzyme action. This was linked with periodic qualitative/indicative gas chromatograph analysis (GC) and change in the total carbon and sulphur contents as a result of lignin degradation. The initial and final pH was also measured. Discussion & Concluding Remarks Observed changes in sulphur content, pH and GC results suggested that the amount of methane generation is directly proportional to the amount of lignin present in MSW. The use of such enzymes in MSW-landfills should be explored as they can significantly reduce a landfill’s life. This would result in economic benefits for landfill operators and minimal impact on the environment. For large-scale application, it is essential to understand their ability to degrade lignin and its impact on the overall biogas production. The EU is keen on moving away from landfills due to environmental concerns. However, a significant number of countries in the world are still developing (Pakistan, India etc.) and therefore, it is predicted that landfills will be in existence for the foreseeable future and will be of great concern to the emerging generation of engineers. This work was conducted as part of an undergraduate project at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering and is complementary to the current research being carried out in the INSPIRE project (http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/inspire/) in the school. The author and project supervisors are happy to discuss these ideas further. Syed Muaaz-Us-Salam (Author): muaaz-us-salams@cardiff.ac.uk; Dr Peter Cleall (Supervisor): cleall@cardiff.ac.uk; Dr Michael Harbottle (Supervisor): harbottlem@cardiff.ac.uk *Bugg, T and Ahmad, M. 2010. The Emerging Role for Bacteria in Lignin Degradation and Bio- Product Formation. Elsevier Journal of Biotechnology. 22 (11), pp. 394-400

Engineering Bioreactor Landfills in The Laboratory

by Syed Muaaz-Us-Salam, Cardiff University

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Let’s Inspire Students! For the 4th year running now, CIWM Cymru manned a table at the SEA Careers and Employability Fair at Swansea University which attracted 2500 students of all backgrounds and 70+ employers. We had 2 days to inspire students on the brand new Bay Campus which houses all the engineering courses, as well as the Singleton Park Campus where we met the geology, geography, physics, sociology and law students to name a few. Both days were very busy and students were coming in waves to query about CIWM, talk about wastes and resources management, what the industry had to offer and how CIWM could help them find a career path. We inspired and recruited at least a dozen of new student members (we wait to know the final figures) and encouraged them to get involved with our “very interesting indeed” industry. Thank you Lucy, South West NMN coordinator, for your help at this event.

Note: CIWM offers free membership to all students. For more information ask for our University and Student newsletter.

Getting Chartered this Autumn?The next round of professional interviews in Wales to become Chartered Waste Manager is scheduled as follows:North Wales: Wednesday 16th NovemberSouth Wales: Tuesday 29th November

16 members attended the Autumn Upgrade workshops and we understand about 10 will go ahead and send their applications in to become Chartered. Best wishes to all applicants at the interviews and we can’t wait to welcome you all as new full members of our Welsh centre.

Should you have any queries about your application or the interview process, please do not hesitate to contact Gabriel.Mancho@ciwm.co.uk , 01604620426 orCeline.anouilh@ciwm.co.uk , 02920652003.

The next session of workshops and interviews will run in spring next year. Dates to be confirmed shortly.

New Welsh MembersPlease join us to give a warm welcome to:

James Oufan from Cardiff University, Daniel John and Sarah Edwards from Pembrokeshire County Council, Vanessa Lang, Meftahul Haider, Louise Bailey and Julie Hughes from Natural Resources Wales who have recently joined our Institution and Welsh centre.

Following their attendance at the RWM exhibition in Birmingham last month, another 37 Welsh professionals have taken the offer of free membership until the end of the year and joined our centre.

Another dozen of students have joined our centre following meeting them at the recent Swansea Employability Academy careers fair on both the new Bay Campus and Singleton Park Campus.

We hope to meet you all soon at our forthcoming events.

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Meet Our New NMN Co-ordinator for Mid and North Wales My name is Mefty Haider and I am an Environment Officer working for Natural Resources Wales. I am based in Bangor, North Wales and have been working as an Environment Officer for 10 years and as such have developed valuable experience in both the waste and water industries. In 2014 I joined the newly created Waste Regulation team. The main aspects of my duties involve regulating permitted waste sites such as waste transfer stations, inert waste landfills and End of Life Vehicle dismantling sites. Also, my duties include dealing with pollution incidents, investigating environmental crime and taking enforcement action against offenders.I became interested in environmental issues at school in the 1990s when Global Warming and Acid Rain was an up and coming topic. My interest continued when I came to Bangor to study and obtained a BSc degree in Chemistry and an MSc in Environmental Chemistry from Bangor University. My Master’s project involved the use of readily available material as a filter product to remove heavy metals and arsenic from drinking water. The filter had to be low cost and easy to use by people in developing countries. I used waste shellfish shells (approx. 8 million tonnes produced globally per year) from the fishing industry as the filter media, which showed great potential under laboratory condition. Before joining Natural Resources Wales (or the predecessor Environment Agency) I pursued a teaching career in Science working within secondary schools. Prior to that I also worked as a quality control chemist at two local pharmaceutical companies for a number of years. Once I started working as an Environment Officer I found the work to be very interesting, varied and something that I enjoy doing very much. I am fortunate enough to work with likeminded people who are passionate in what they do and equally very friendly.

I joined CIWM recently and am very excited with my role as the new NMN Coordinator for Mid and North Wales. I am hoping to organise some interesting and educational visits to sites operating within the waste industry. Also, I’m planning to establish contacts within Bangor University and organise visits to lectures and seminars involving innovative technology and research within waste treatment, minimisation, and recycling. I will also be keen to hear what new members would be interested in.

When I’m not working I like to spend time with my family and do lot of running after my children! In my free time I like to go rock climbing, walking in our beautiful Welsh country side or just relaxing and watching movies.

I am here to help, learn and am looking forward to hearing from you all in the near future.

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News from WRAP Cymru by Clare Thomas, WRAP Cymru

‘The Climate Change Impacts of Recycling Services in Wales’ ReportRecently published by WRAP Cymru on behalf of the Welsh Government, this report examines the carbon impacts of different recycling services used by local authorities in Wales. The report, which represents the first ever detailed look at the overall climate change impacts of waste management in Wales, produced two key findings. Firstly, meeting the 70% recycling target will improve CO2 emissions by 86,000 tonnes per annum; and secondly, modern kerbside sort collection has a 19% better carbon benefit than two stream collections and 25% better than co-mingled systems. The full report can be found here.

Surplus Food Redistribution Pilots in WalesTogether with Morrisons, WRAP Cymru instigated a project to examine the concept that student volunteer organisations could play a strong role in facilitating the redistribution of surplus food. One of the largest student volunteer organisations in Wales, Discovery, joined with their local Morrisons store and Swansea University to set up a pilot scheme, running from February to June 2016. In the first four months, £3,000 worth of surplus food was donated to those in need, with Discovery planning to continue with the scheme. Following the pilot’s success, Swansea University are also introducing ‘Food Surplus evenings’ with two courses for two pounds on Wednesday evenings, interspersed with free meals for local community groups. To find out how to set up and run a surplus food project, please visit the WRAP Cymru website or contact Hugh Jones, WRAP Cymru Programme Area Manager, on 02920 100115 or Hugh.Jones@wrap.org.uk

The Best Practice in High Diversion Case StudiesThe Collections Blueprint describes the Welsh Government’s recommended service profile for the collection of household waste. Published in 2011 as part of the Municipal Sector Plan, and recently reviewed, it provides a system that is now achieving high rates of high quality recycling, significant cost savings and improved sustainable development outcomes.Please click here for WRAP Cymru’s video resources and Case Studies that illustrate how, through adoption of the Collections Blueprint, local authorities are achieving greater consistency of service across Wales and delivering on the ambitious ‘Towards Zero Waste’ targets. Success so far can be evidenced by the Welsh Government’s statistics regarding the re-use, recycling and composting of municipal waste, which showed a record rate of 60% for the 12 months to the end of March 2016.

Get Ready to Love Your Clothes Cardiff! Love Your Clothes is coming to Cardiff, offering a week of events and activities across the city to help raise awareness of the value of clothes and help reduce the environmental impact of clothing.

‘Love Your Clothes Cardiff’, which takes place from Monday 24 to Saturday 29 October in conjunction with Cardiff Fashion Week, is challenging the people of Cardiff to collectively donate five tonnes of clothes for YMCA Cardiff and other charities in Wales.

People can drop their pre-loved items off at Plasnewydd Community Centre (2 Shakespeare Street, Roath) from Monday 24 to Friday 28 October between 5pm and 7:30pm, where there will be a giant shipping container waiting to be filled! Donations can be exchanged for tokens for the Love Your Clothes Swap Shop taking place on Saturday 29 October between 12pm and 4pm at the Community Centre.

In addition, Love Your Clothes has teamed up with Green City Events, Oxfam, YMCA Cardiff and their network of local Super Crafters to offer an exciting range of up-cycling and up-skilling workshops, sustainable fashion master classes, a repair surgery and a Sewathon.

There will also be fun up-cycling activities for families and children throughout the week at the Love Your Clothes pop-up shop in the Capitol Shopping Centre, including how to make sustainable Halloween costumes.

To find out more about Love Your Clothes Cardiff, the five tonne clothing collection appeal, and how you can fix, alter, re-fashion, up-cycle, sew, swap, donate and get involved, please visit: www.loveyourclothes.org.uk/cardiff

Love Your Clothes is a campaign that aims to change the way UK consumers buy, use and dispose of their clothing to reduce the environmental impact of clothing across the UK and influence a more circular approach to clothing. Love Your Clothes is part of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), which is coordinated by WRAP.

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Reuse: Not Just About Reducing Waste by Claire Charras, FRN

Members of the Furniture Re-use Network (FRN) are charities and social enterprises across the UK that work towards alleviating poverty by preventing reusable household furniture going to landfill or recycling. But the act of reuse can extend far beyond that; it may be by rebuilding someone’s confidence and self-esteem through training, volunteering and employment opportunities or by turning the shell of a property into home by offering affordable furniture. Last spring, one of FRN’s Welsh members, toogoodtowaste, a leading re-use and recycling charity in Rhondda Cynon Taf, saw themselves in receipt of over 1,000 mattresses generously donated by IKEA. These have gone to good homes at an affordable price and flew out of the door in less than a few weeks from toogoodtowaste receiving them. This large donation was made possible thanks to the FRN and the close working relationship between IKEA UK & Ireland and the FRN which has enabled local communities in the UK to access affordable items of a great quality.This donation has equated to over 24 tonnes of waste being diverted from incineration for energy recovery. Every year, the FRN looks at the social, socio-economic and environmental impact the voluntary re-use sector has in the UK. In 2015/2016, the FRN’s annual statistics found that the reuse sector:• Employed over 4,700 staff;• Supported over 48,800 volunteers, trainees and people on work placements;• Helped around 1.5 million low income households;• Saved low income households £439 million to purchase essential goods such as beds;• Reused 3.4 million items of furniture and electrical equipment;• Diverted 118,350 tonnes of waste from landfill;• Saved over 126,500 tonnes of CO2.Hear more great examples of how reuse supports local communities, at the Annual FRN Conference, 10-11 May 2017. Limited number of Early Bird tickets now available! For more information, please go to www.frn.org.uk.

Toogoodtowaste, the leading re-use and recycling charity in Rhondda Cynon Taf has gone viral with on-line offers of help to cats & dogs rescue centres. toogoodtowaste recently had a very large donation of pre-owned duvets and pillows from the Ministry of Defence. Shortly after receiving the items the charity put a message on their Facebook page offering any animal rescue centres that needed free duvets and pillows.The uptake was unbelievable with their post reaching over 935,000 people with over 12,000 shares and over 3,500 comments, reaching those locally to the northern parts of Scotland, Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Canada, America even Australia.

One of the rescue centres that received some of the duvets, Many Tears, based in Carmarthen were one of the first to arrive, Mair Gibbs, a volunteer at Many Tears, said, “These duvets are a god-send, they will help us make our dogs more comfortable and help keep them warm in the coming months as we move into the winter.” Many Tears rehome over 2500 dogs each year so the demand for clean bedding is enormous.Shaun England, Chief Executive Officer at toogoodtowaste said: “We are absolutely delighted that we are able to help other charities and organisations when we have a surplus of items, we have been inundated with requests for the bedding from all areas of the globe, we feel so humbled at the response but feel happy that we are able to help make the lives of animals in rescue so much better.” All the duvets have now been allocated to 24 different animal rescue centres across the country from the local dog pound in the Rhondda who are right on their doorstep, Ty Nant Cat Sanctuary in Port Talbot and as far afield as Jodies Cyprus Dog Rescue and many, many more. The charity has asked for photos of some of the animals using the duvets so keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.

Reuse Charity Help Cat & Dog Rescue Centres by Katie Blake, Toogoodtowaste

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The latest and final recycling figures for this year reveal Wales is recycling double the waste it did a decade ago and is exceeding the current statutory recycling target of 58%.The final results for 2015/16 show the average combined reuse, recycling and composting rate across Wales’ 22 local authorities was 60%, an increase of 4 percentage points on last year’s final figure and 30 percentage points more than nine years ago. It is also 2 percentage points higher then the current statutory recycling target of 58%.Further figures released today show the amount of biodegradable municipal waste local authorities are sending to landfill has reduced by 80% in a decade. Authorities sent 170,567 tonnes of biodegradable waste to landfill in 2015-16, 58% less than the legal allowance of 410,000 tonnes. All 22 local authorities achieved their individual allocated allowance.Reducing the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, preventing the production and release of methane into the air from landfill sites.Welcoming the statistics, the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:“Wales leads the way in the UK when it comes to recycling, with these latest figures confirming we are exceeding the ambitious 58% target. This is encouraging as it also suggests we are well on track to meet our 70% target by 2025.

“This achievement is thanks to local authorities and householders’ commitment to recycling, together we can continue to make improvements. I’d like to see Wales become Europe’s best recycling nation and when looking at how far we have come since 2006 I believe this is something we can and will achieve.”19 of the 22 local authorities in Wales met or exceeded the current 58% target set in the Toward Zero Waste strategy. Local authorities struggling to meet targets have received additional funding as part of the Welsh Government’s Collaborative Change Programme. This will enable them to make improvements to collection services and depot facilities and support them to meet statutory recycling targets in future years.The Cabinet Secretary will be writing to the three failing authorities to ask them to explain their failure to meet the target and set out any mitigating facts they feel the Welsh Government should consider before making a decision.A decision on whether to issue penalties to authorities failing in 2015-16 will be made by the Cabinet Secretary on an authority by authority basis once the circumstances around the failures are fully considered. Fines may be imposed in future if local authorities continue to miss targets.The latest recycling statistics are available here.

Recycling in Wales Doubles in a Decade

European Circular Economy Project Kicks Off in WalesA new Europe-wide project to help smaller businesses enter the circular economy and operate in a more sustainable and profitable way has kicked off in Wales.A circular economy is a key concept of the Green Economy, where high-quality materials derived from waste products can be supplied back to Welsh manufacturers and used productively again and again. A recent study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) identified the potential economic benefits of a circular economy as being more than £2billion, while a WRAP/Green Alliance study predicts up to 30,000 new jobs could be created.The Circular Economy for SMEs (CESME) project has been established to support SMEs to enter the green economy and future-proof their business in a greener and more sustainable way. Supported by €1.73million of Interreg Europe funding and including 10 partners from six European countries, the project will share experiences, identify best practice and provide a step by step guide for SMEs. The project also aims to provide policy makers with the knowledge and understanding of the benefits of the circular economy and advise how support packages can be used to help SMEs to enter the circular economy.Wales hosted the first partner event in May, which saw all ten partners gather in Cardiff and hear from a number of circular economy experts including the Ecodesign Centre Wales and WRAP Cymru. Delegates visited local SME Orangebox in Hengoed, winner of the 2002 Wales Environment Award. The company undertook a pilot project in 2014 to design an office chair that is 98% recyclable with the potential to generate sales of £5million per annum and £2.5million of added value for Orangebox’s supply chain.Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said: “Wales has a strengthening global reputation for green growth and we recognise the opportunities the circular economy will bring. Sharing valuable expertise will help us break down barriers for SMEs and bring this vision into reality.”The CESME project is expected to last four years with the first phase focussed on working with policy makers to shape and improve selected policy instruments and the second phase working with SMEs.Notes: The CESME project was initiated by the Business Development Centre in North Denmark, who act as project lead. The project partnership includes overall ten partners from six European countries: Denmark (DK), Italy (IT), Finland (FI), Bulgaria (BG), United Kingdom (UK) and Greece (GR). Other partners are Metropolitan City of Bologna (IT), ERVET SpA – Emilia Romagna Development Agency (IT), Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia (FI), JPYP Business Service (FI), Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts (BG), Welsh Government (UK), Development Agency of Eastern Thessaloniki’s Local Authorities (GR) and the Region of Central Macedonia (GR). The project has a total budget of €1,730,000 and will be co-funded by Interreg Europe Programme. Its foreseen duration is 4 years.

Waste HandbooksTo help waste producers and managers manage their waste appropriately, Natural Resources Wales has awarded a contract to Eunomia Research and Consulting Ltd to develop guidance on 12 waste materials to be brought together in a handbook. A chapter will be dedicated to each material and include information on its arising, handling and treatment. The finalised handbook is expected to be published by April 2017 and will be made available to customers as a reference guide for the good management of those wastes. The waste streams to be included are Wood, Plasterboard, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Plastic, End of Life Vehicles (ELV), Paper, Cardboard, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), Soils, Metals, Street Sweepings and Tyres.

Fire Prevention and MitigationNatural Resources Wales is using Welsh Government funding to deliver initiatives that will increase our capability to tackle waste crime and prevent & manage fire risk at permitted sites including having Matthew Bradford from South Wales Fire & Rescue Services seconded to NRW until the end of March 2017.In addition to this NRW is developing training packages, for use both internally and externally, on the Fire Prevention and Mitigation Plan Guidance for Waste Sites. The guidance was published on the NRW website earlier this year and is jointly badged with the three Welsh Fire and Rescue Services.

Hazardous Waste Consignee ReturnsNRW developed a new system in 2015 that was able to accept consignee returns on both the NRW and Environment Agency spreadsheets. However with the removal of the requirement for producers to register in England, the Environment Agency specification for returns has changed and the system is no longer able to accept consignee returns produced using their spreadsheet. All returns for hazardous waste consignees in Wales should be on the NRW spreadsheet, which is available on the website. Additionally the associated NRW schema is available from NRW on request.

Review of Fees and Charges for 2017-18Natural Resources Wales’ consultation on fees and charges for 2017-18 begins on 21st October this year. Among other things NRW will be consulting upon a proposal to amend the multipliers applied to the charges for Waste Facilities within

the D, E and F compliance bands. This change is needed to recover the cost of delivering the additional monitoring and compliance required to regulate such sites and bring them back into compliance with permits.The consultation ends on 13th January, further information and details of how to respond can be found on their website www.naturalresourceswales.gov.uk.

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) StorageNatural Resources Wales are aware that landowners and operators of waste facilities in Wales are being approached by individuals or companies looking to use their land for what is described as ‘short-term’ or ‘strategic’ storage of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This is baled mixed municipal waste, usually destined for incineration and is similar in appearance to silage bales as shown in the attached photograph. The proposal for storage may also involve significant sums of money.

Photograph credit: Environment Agency

It is important to be aware that RDF is a waste material and that its management and storage is tightly regulated, requiring an appropriate Environmental Permit from Natural Resources Wales to ensure it is handled safely and legally. There is a significant risk of nuisance such as flies and odour from this material as well as a fire risk. There is also a danger that the material will be abandoned, which is likely to lead to substantial costs in removing it and leaving landowners liable to possible enforcement action for illegal storage.If you are approached to store this material or any other waste material or you are aware of any instances where this is occurring, please contact the Natural Resources Wales incident hotline on 0800 807060.

Waste Legislation Update by Emma Kiellan, Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

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Management Team – Cambrian Training Company for the Roger Hewitt Learning & Development Award

- The Sustainability Lab – Bangor University for the Best Reuse and Waste Prevention Project Award and Bangor University – #LoveHalls for the Best Resources Project by Facilities Management Award

- Lee Marshall from LARAC for the Industry Leader of the Year AwardBest wishes to all !

Dates for Your Diary!CONFERENCES ~ SITE VISITS ~ LECTURES - WORKSHOPS...October /November - Make Noise Campaign with cutting edge music events: 21-23 October in Cardiff, 11 November in Pontypridd, 12 November in Aberystwyth and 18 November in Newport3 November, London Marriott Grosvenor Square - CIWM Sustainability & Resource Awards24 November, Central Cardiff - Policy Forum for Wales Keynote Seminar:The future of Wales’ environment: protecting natural resources, improving air quality and tackling climate change2 December, Park Inn Cardiff - CIWM Cymru Wales Christmas Event (afternoon seminar and evening dinner)

CONSULTATIONS - Here are the links to all current Welsh Government consultations and NRW ones.

CIWM & ESA TRAINING (For information, call 01604620426 or visit the Training webpage)CIWM Training offer: We're offering a 10% discount on any 2017 scheduled training course booked before 10am on 23 December 2016. You can also receive a 20% discount on bespoke training courses for 2017 booked before the end of this year.

Waste Legislation Course for Wales: 19 April and 21 September 2017

For further information on the above events or the Welsh Newsletter, please contact Celine, on 02920 652003 or E-mail: celine.anouilh@ciwm.co.uk

CIWM Resource Conference Cymru 2017 CIWM is organising the CIWM Resource Conference Cymru 2017 on “Brexit and Wales’ future waste management programme” at the Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff Bay, on 23 March 2017. Save the date now!With the impending exit from the European Union there is future uncertainty over Wales’ financial situation where we will be unable to access European Structural funds. There is also uncertainty over future access to the European Single Market and the extent to which European Directives and Regulations will need to be complied with and how some of the critical legislation will be replaced such as the arrangements covering international movement of waste.Important changes are underway for everyone in Wales – led by Welsh Government - to keep up momentum in moving to a more sustainable future. In resources and waste management more will be expected from businesses, councils, public bodies and others to consume fewer resources, waste less and to separate out and manage their wastes responsibly. It will involve every step from product and service design, manufacture and retail, the built environment and waste management. This conference provides a timely opportunity to hear about and comment on those changes and to prepare for the future. Whether your aim is to gain business advantage, cut costs or ensure compliance with new waste laws, don’t miss this opportunity to hear and to be heard. Waste separation, resource efficiency and a circular materials economy will affect your organisation and its future.So there are many questions that will need to be answered, primarily for the waste industry what will be the impact on Wales’ waste policies for the future?This conference will address some of these questions and is a must attend event for those engaged in waste management in Wales. For more information about this conference, please contact Kent Love (kent.love@ciwm.co.uk) on 01604620426.

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Are You Making the Most of Your Membership? Your Institution has recently invested in 21st century communication tools for you to make the most of your membership. That includes a new website linked to our membership database which offers a wide range of ways for you to interact with CIWM and all its members. CIWM staff is currently populating the website and learning everyday how to make the best use of these new tools and we need you to embrace this new technology which should highly enhanced your CIWM membership and experience. For all this to work for your benefit, you need to have set up an account on the CIWM website. If you have one already, join the CIWM communities (Welsh Centre) /working groups you are interested in, select your mailing preferences so you only hear about what you are interested in. With your account, you will also be able to book your place at events, participate to blogs and discussions, record your CPD and much more. We plan to tell you more about the website and how to use it during our Christmas event’s seminar. We will also shortly run a short survey to find out whether you use the website and whether you actually receive all the communication you should receive from us. Thanks in anticipation for your participation...