So we have reached the middle of August already, but at least we are experiencing more tolerable temperatures!
The more pleasant temperatures are a welcome change to the unbearable heat from a few days ago (and also the wet and chilly summers that we have often experienced in the past!).
As we are now fully into the period of the parliamentary summer recess, we cant expect any response from Government on Consistency for England or DRS for England, Wales and Northern Ireland until at least September, and this is likely to be further delayed by the Conservative Party leadership elections and the subsequent cabinet reshuffle.
However, maybe this is the time to focus on what we do know, as there is plenty of planning to start putting into place. We know that the Government have allocated £295 million for the introduction of separate food waste collection services, so there is now the opportunity for those Local Authorities who don’t have a separate food waste collection service to start appraising the introduction of this. There is a huge amount of support and advice within the waste management sector and a wealth of experience from other Local Authorities, who are willing to share information to help others who are planning to introduce this service. Many Local Authorities implemented food waste collections a number of years ago and know all about the ups and downs of contracts, communications and containers.
For those wanting to gain advice or share their experience, the LARAC discussion forum is an excellent place to start. With over 300 members, there is certain to be another Authority who can answer questions or provide valuable insight on a wide variety of topics, from operations to communications to strategies and policies. Please make use of this valuable resource, which can save a lot of time and resource in the long run. We will all be experiencing a significant period of change over the next few months and years, so the more we can all support each other the better.
And speaking of information sharing, the LARAC Conference is now less than two months away, and as always, this will be an excellent opportunity for networking and learning from both the presentations and workshops and also from the other delegates. There is so much knowledge and experience in the room, I for one always come away from the conference with a huge amount of information to process and a handful of contacts to link in with for the future. There is still time to secure your place at the conference here which is in Birmingham on the 5th and 6th October.
I look forward to seeing many of you there, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.
