THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – OCTOBER 2011

environmental roundtable 47

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In the week that The Queen gave the green light to the use of Archimedes screw technology to harness the power of the River Thames and provide hydroelectricity for Windsor Castle, The Business Magazine and leading law �rm B P Collins invited several of their long-standing sector-expert clients to Gerrards Cross to discuss environmental issues in our region and debate ..... John Burbedge reports the roundtable highlights.

ParticipantsJohn Brace

Sue Deacon,

Diane Gill,

Neil Grundon,

Management

Andrew Hillier

Pumps

Peter Prior

Sean Reel

Michael Topham

Mike Wynne

David Murray:

The Business Magazine

Continued overleaf...

Are our ‘green’ shoots now well established?

come, but David Murray

Michael Topham

Neil Grundon

the volume of recycling is increasing, so is the

Andrew Hilliertake things very seriously now in terms of renewables. We are also working with several

Peter Prior

these tough times it is important that the most

Murray

Sean Reel

Grundon

present. Successive governments seem to have

The Reel issues on the horizonSean Reel

we barely scratch the surface of true recycling

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John Brace

Andrew Hillier

Mike Wynne

huggers but they are not going to make the

with the environmental challenges we face.

Reel

on a bigger better scale, rather than leaving

The UK Waste Review – What a waste of effort!Mike Wynne was highly critical in relation to

review of national waste management,

know how long or how much money they

Diane Gill

than imposing anything meaningful on

uncertainty rather than opportunity within

cautious of the impact of the Government

TophamIt was benign, but in one way it was

trying to be less prescriptive, allowing us environmental businesses to come up with

Wynne

knows what the legislation will be in two

is probably stricter than here, but their

Topham

recyclables into separate or the same waste collection bins for later mechanical sorting.

The sleeping giant in the East has awoken ...Wynne

before it becomes effective. In that time

Reelinterest from overseas than from within

because we think there is opportunity for

Wynnenew green jobs in this country over the

have to, because they are potentially in a worse waste management situation than

of infrastructure projects that are being

Let the market pick the winnersDoes the answer lie in the soil, or with

Prior

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Diane Gill

Sean Reel

Topham

holes, but now we have process engineers,

Prior

Remove the ROCs and smooth our regulatory pathPriorregime covering the environment sector, with

rather than all these regulatory instruments

Minister confuse electricity with energy. It’s a common mistake, but electricity is only about

Topham Prior

Reel

preneurs’ in helping to resolve the planet’s serious environmental issues.

Please, can we have one simple fossil fuel tax?

Prior

Hillier

Reel

the proportion of income spent on fuel, won’t

Hillier

fossil fuels, then you will just get more cheap

Grundongeneral but I agree with Peter. If you believe that climate change is the biggest threat to

Topham

recycling solutions.

Grundon

years was looking unlikely.

It’s not the tipping, but the tipping points that matter

Murray

Tophamon commercially economic tipping points

though that waste might have aluminium at

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Sue Deacon

Michael Topham

the competing force to win contracts for

what’s left after the recyclables are taken

probably come a tipping point in a few years

Prior

bigger, which was a great incentive for

be the same for a progressive fossil fuel

Topham

A lot of hot air?Wynne

Grundon

the cost of infrastructure.

Prior

the economic feasibility of using much of the

heating.

to electricity is low.

initial investment in that process. It’s totally

Why do we need plastic-wrapped cucumbers?

John Brace

waste management cycle.

Brace

unnecessary packaging that we throw away is

Grundon

Brace

Grundon

Tophamthe enemy, but I believe we have a lot less

So we’ll continue to have packaging in our

Brace

Topham

even the best performing recyclers are only

to look more at things like thermal recovery

Following the paper trail...Murray

Topham

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Peter Prior

Neil Grundon

Murray

Grundon

Topham

of recurring processes or stable systems.

. . . and building awareness . . .Murray Sue Deacon, who specialises in commercial property work,

tenants are reluctant to increase their rental costs, especially with leases now increasingly

Wynne

because of increasing green awareness of buyers.

Prior

because it was cheaper.

. . . while encouraging eco-preneurial innovationReelwho have got great creative technological

for larger companies to form corporate

Reelrecycling plastic waste that hopefully will be

processes to stop a bullet from a rifle.

Prior

Topham

small enterprises have got such a vital role to

see that small businesses are very much the

Grundon

is killing entrepreneurialism in small

Prior

Prior

the future.

Wynne

Grundonbeen monitoring its monitoring its methane

Topham Prior’s ‘single fossil

Details: www.bpcollins.co.uk

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He added: “Unfortunately, the 50% tax is killing entrepreneurialism in small businesses.”

Prior then controversially suggested: What’s wrong with landfill? ‘Methane!’ came the roundtable reply.

But landfill could still be economic if the methane could be captured and LT was lifted, Prior argued. New cost-efficient methane capture technology might come along and if new landfills were planned better now they could become the cheapest option in the future.

Wynne said poor landfill management and methane problems had been largely overcome in Ireland, admittedly mainly due to EU regulations, but it proved change could be achieved. The Irish Government were decisive when they laid out their blueprint document ‘Changing Our Ways’.

Grundon revealed that his company had been monitoring its methane emissions from 2000 and they were lower now with closed cell landfills than they were with open landfills.

Topham warned that Prior’s ‘single fossil fuel tax’ might obey the Law of Unintended Consequences. “Unless you can be absolutely sure that it is going to drive a behaviour . . . .”

It could be that LT was even now driving the waste management industry to unnecessary investment on alternative methods of disposal, if future technological advances could prove landfill management to be a better and cost-effective option for the UK.