James Capel, MD of pioneering waste management company Simply Waste Solutions, discusses, in this month’s HR Magazine how the perception of the waste industry has changed enormously over the last decade.
Now, no longer viewed as dirty and unsophisticated, the waste industry now is one of the UK\’s fastest growing parts of the economy, full of innovation and cutting-edge technology that is transforming our waste into energy and \’second-life\’ materials.
As such the waste industry has growing appeal as a career of choice, and particularly for school and college leavers which means that companies like Simply Waste need to be progressive and dynamic in order to attract the very best talent.
Here’s an excerpt from the article which can be read in full here.
It wasn’t that long ago that more than 90% of our waste was landfilled. Clearly, this wasn’t sustainable and, aside from contamination of the land and the harmful and dangerous methane and CO2 gases the waste mountain generated, sites were filling up fast. A solution was needed and measures are now gradually being put in place to divert waste away from landfill and to encourage it to be turned into a valuable resource. The target, set by the EU, is that all member states should be recycling 50% of their waste by 2020. Although the UK is on track, at 39%, many poorer EU countries have yet to break into double figures.
To meet this challenge, our industry is being forced to become more agile and progressive by introducing new practices and investing in ever-new technologies. Most importantly, the industry needs a new mindset and a workforce with new skills. The adage “where there’s muck there’s brass” has never been truer. The UK waste management industry is worth more than £8 billion, employs about 130,000 people and is estimated to be growing at more than 20% a year.
