Peter Gerstrom, Chief Executive of waste management company Cory Environmental, has become the new Chairman of the Environmental Services Association (ESA), a trade association for the UK’s resource and waste management industry.
The announcement was made this afternoon (21 November), at the ESA’s annual lunch held at the Marriot Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London, where the official inauguration took place.
In his closing speech, outgoing Chair David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of waste management company SITA UK and President of the European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD), focused on what the trade association has achieved over his two-year chairmanship, such as working to raise the issue of waste crime and creating a new ‘voice’ for the waste and resources industry, Resources and Waste UK.
He thanked ESA and its members for their support over the last two years, and asked them to extend this to Gerstrom as he takes over as Chair.
In turn, Gerstrom thanked Palmer-Jones for his work as Chair, and his ongoing work as FEAD President, and set out his agenda for the future of the ESA and the industry into 2015.
He said: “We should celebrate what we have achieved, but not rest on it, it is time to build the next phase.
“A shared vision is vital, but we also need to see the stepping stones that will create investment and confidence, which requires an even closer partnership with government and stakeholders. In this I am a firm believer in evolution rather than revolution and I look forward to pushing on with this agenda.”
He went on to reiterate that continued investment in technologies and facilities that can handle the materials and volume of materials produced was vital, and stated that a comprehensive ‘Resource Strategy’ from central government is required to bring about a circular economy.
Barry Dennis, ESA Director General, who is set to retire at the end of the year, commented: “Looking to 2015, it’s going to be an exciting year, with the continued focus for ESA, the closer working relationship with CIWM in the form of Resources and Waste UK, and with other stakeholders, the industry is showing that closer working is the way forward.”
Find out more about the ESA and Resources and Waste UK.
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