The Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) has announced its new volunteer appointments for 2015.

The group advises businesses on a range of topics including optimising packaging and increasing packaging capture rates, and represents the industry to central government and devolved administrations.

Committee composition

The new committee, chaired by environmental consultant Phil Conran, comprises sector representatives of each element of the supply chain and ‘reflects the need to move from a technical focus on packaging to a delivery focus of what will be higher levels of reduction and recovery up to 2020’.

The 10 appointed members are:

• Adrian Hawkes, Policy Director of compliance scheme Valpak, who is representing large compliance schemes;
• Simon Stringer, Managing Director of Scottish and Northern Irish compliance schemes Scotpak and Nipak, who is representing small compliance schemes;
• Rebecca Cocking, Head of Container Affairs at glass manufacturer trade association British Glass, who is representing glass with a secondary convertor element;
• Rick Hindley, Executive Director of the Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro), who is representing aluminium with a secondary convertor element;
• Garvin Freeman, Packaging Recycling Manager at steel manufacturer Tata Steel, who is representing the steel industry and reprocessors;
• Andrew Bird, Chair of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), who is representing local authorities;
• Roger Walton, Director of Environment and Corporate Assets at Dover District Council, who is also representing local authorities;
• Jonathan Short, founder of ECO Plastics (now known as ECOPlastics Recycling following its acquisition by investment group Aurelius), who is representing the plastics sector, including reprocessing and export;
• Martin Cooper, Senior Dry Recyclate Trader at waste management company SITA Suez, who is representing the waste management sector; and
• Andrew Speck, Senior Procurement Manager at supply chain consultancy HAVI Global Solutions and former Commercial and Environmental Packaging Manager at Marks & Spencer, who is representing the retail sector and independent consultants.

Conran stated that Defra is still seeking applications from the retail and pack fill sectors to fill two appointments on the committee. Those interested in applying for the positions are being asked to email packaging@defra.gsi.gov.uk

The new committee will hold its first meeting next Wednesday (28 January) to consider its immediate work programme and its priorities for both the short and long term.

ACP hopes to ‘deliver real improvements to the way the current system works’

Speaking of the appointments, Conran said: “I am delighted with the members that have been appointed, as we have a strong group of extremely knowledgeable and experienced stakeholders providing excellent representation.

“There are plenty of challenges ahead, not least the whole question of what we are trying to achieve with the PRN [packaging recovery note] system. I would therefore hope that in the short term, we can deliver real improvements to the way the current system works and in the long term, help Defra to create a system that can then deliver future requirements such as whatever comes out of the [European Commission’s] Circular Economy Package review.”

LARAC’s Andrew Bird said it was a “great honour to be appointed to the Advisory Committee for Packaging… to represent the views of local authorities”.

He added: “It is clear to me that there is a positive wish throughout the supply chain to make sure the resources we produce, sell, and use, are not disposed of but reused or recycled in a sustainable way. The problem is how we make this happen, and I believe this committee is the right vehicle to making these wishes come to fruition.”

Jonathan Short also commented, saying: "I am delighted to be appointed to sit on the ACP committee. I always felt that the insight from a rigid packaging reprocessor's perspective was missing in the previous body; it is great to see this has been resolved. One of my expectations from the ACP is to bring all stakeholders together to understand respective issues and ensure action is taken to overcome them."

Find out more about the Advisory Committee on Packaging’s work.