The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) has announced the finalists for its Celebration Awards 2015. Now in their fifth year, the awards recognise ‘the achievements and hard work of local authority recycling officers and their colleagues over the past 12 months’.

The winners will be announced at a presentation dinner at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham on October 14 following the first day of the annual LARAC Conference.

Commenting on the entrants, LARAC Chair Andrew Bird said: “There were some difficult decisions as the standards this year were really high. We are still experiencing very difficult economic times, so it’s great to see how much commitment there is in terms of recycling.

“I think the strongest entries were probably in the communications category. It’s evidence that an effective campaign really does result in improved performance.”

Details of finalists

The finalists for the six categories of awards are as follows:

Best Communications Campaign of the Year:

· Eastleigh Borough Council – ‘Recycle With Daisy’

· Hackney Council – Food Recycling Experiment

· Surrey County Council – Textiles Recycling Campaign 2015

Best Partnership Award:

· Cumbria County Council and Freegle

· Blackpool Council Rover

· North Ayrshire Council’s Furniture and Bulky Waste Project

Best Team of the Year:

· West London Waste Authority

· Dacorum Borough Council’s ‘Recycle For Dacorum’ Project Team

· Cherwell & South Northants councils

Best Waste Minimisation or Prevention Project:

· Merseyside and Halton Community Fund Programme 2014-15

· West London Waste Authority Waste Prevention Project

· South Norfolk Reuse Events

Best New Idea:

· Warwickshire County Council Franchising of HWRC Re-Use Shops

· London Borough of Redbridge: Pride of Place Scheme

· Cherwell & South Northants councils

Recycling Officer of the Year:

· Warwickshire County Council – David Whitehouse

· Cherwell District Council – Andrew Jenkins

· South Bucks District Council – Simone Singleton

LARAC Conference details

The programme for this year’s LARAC Conference will involve a look at ‘higher level issues’, with a focus on packaging and Europe, including an address from Phil Conran, the new Chair of the Advisory Committee on Packaging.

Other sessions will involve case studies looking at three weekly collections and TEEP compliance, as well as a panel debate on materials prices and workshop sessions.

Writing in the LARAC members’ magazine, the Loop, CEO Lee Marshall said: ‘This year we want to get you all using social media throughout the event and get #LARAC2015 trending. So please use the hashtag leading up to and during the event and direct message @LARACSpeaks with any questions for any of the speakers during the event. We are looking forward to it and also looking forward to seeing so many of our LARAC members and industry colleagues in Nottingham.’

The LARAC Conference 2015 runs from 14-15 October.