January might be giving you chills, but these past few weeks have been electrifying. At LARAC HQ, we’ve been positively charged with breaking news and electrifying developments in the sector. First, the shocking revelation that vapes have been banned in the UK has us wondering if we’ll witness any significant decrease in the number of vapes that are turning up in unwanted places, littered and in the back of bin lorries, and causing issues and dangers for our environments. We will keep a keen eye on this situation, and it will be interesting to see how far the ban will go to change the current landscape.
Meanwhile, we’ve been plugged into an extensive consultation and call for evidence, shining a bright light on waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) and placing it firmly under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) spotlight. Options are being explored, from introducing widespread kerbside collections to enforcing take-back schemes in retailers’ premises and new strict rules for online retailers. I hope to see lots of you at the second WEEE workshop, where we’ll look to get your views on the key points to finalise our response. You can sign up here.
We have also been busy generating ideas and planning this year’s LARAC’s four UK-wide conferences. The initial meetings were positive and resulted in some inspiring agendas taking form. I’m excited for what’s to come. This year, we are also focusing on gearing up for regional activity; we are keen to offer free member events in each region where possible, so watch this space.
Over the past couple of months, I have been working alongside Jo Oliver, our North-West regional rep, to help plan her upcoming regional event focusing on food waste collections, from the procurement of kit, through to the comms needed to enhance participation. Many of you have signed up for this not-to-be-missed, member-only, free-to-attend event, kindly sponsored by the Compost Bag Co. It will be a day full of exciting speakers and opportunities to see what others are doing to prepare for the full rollout of food waste collections in England. If you are in the North-West, you will have been invited to this event by email, but if you need any help registering, email our admin team - admin@larac.org.uk
I’ll be getting out and about in February, starting with the Communications Conference in London on 7 Feb. I am chairing the second session on “Behaviour Change: Engagement & Insights.” This is my first experience chairing, so it should be interesting! I hope to chat with members in the breaks; see you there.
