Andy Hill, chair of the Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA) reflects on 2020 and his chairpersonship of the Association.
It seems appropriate that as we end 2020, I find myself writing this article as I begin preparing to step down from my role as chair of the Wood Recyclers’ Association.
I’m due to stand down in March at our Annual General Meeting but the end of a year is always a good time for reflection, so it feels timely that the opportunity to write this article has come now.
It’s eight years since I took over the role as chair and in that time the WRA and the industry as a whole has undergone many changes, the majority (I think) for the better!
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the WRA and am incredibly proud of all it has achieved while I have been chair. We have totally transformed from the small, trade association we were to one which can really pull its weight on behalf of its members.
Over the past five years the WRA has dealt with some major challenges on behalf of its members. One of the biggest was our campaign for changes to the Environment Agency’s proposed Fire Prevention Plan (FPP) guidance in 2015.
Of course, I’m incredibly proud that so much has happened under my chairpersonship, but it is very much a team undertaking and without the collective efforts of the whole Board and others we would not be where we are today.
Over the past five years the WRA has dealt with some major challenges on behalf of its members. One of the biggest was our campaign for changes to the Environment Agency’s proposed Fire Prevention Plan (FPP) guidance in 2015.
FPP was a test of our strength and resilience, as well as our combined expertise, and together we managed to work with our members and the regulators to reach a conclusion which everyone was satisfied with.
The blood, sweat and tears that was put into that project by the WRA’s Board and surrounding support team over a three year period, was all worth the effort in the end. As well as resolving the issue of FPPs, it did a huge amount to raise the profile of the WRA with all the right audiences, as well as create many positive and beneficial relationships with our key stakeholders.
Waste Wood Classification Project
On the back of the FPP work, the WRA was tasked by the Environment Agency to lead on the Waste Wood Classification Project.
This began in 2017, is still on-going and will definitely outlast my chairpersonship! To date it has involved many months of planned and methodical desktop and practical work to gather scientific evidence to present to the regulators.
Our aim, along with our partners at the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC) who are working with us on this, is to ensure that waste wood in the UK is properly classified at its origin and is processed into appropriate end markets. We are also seeking to clarify which waste wood items are hazardous and which aren’t.
So, all in all I feel I am leaving the role as chair at a time when the industry is buoyant and reasonably resilient, despite the year we have all had!
So far, we know the only areas of potential concern for waste wood are external joinery, tiling battens and structural timbers from pre-2007 buildings in the construction and demolition stream, and fence posts and decking in the household stream.
The work on this will continue into 2021 and will result in two separate sets of guidance (Codes of Practices) – one for the waste wood processing sector and one for the construction/demolition industry, the aim of which is to make their “day job” as simple as possible.
As well as these two major projects, the WRA has seen its profile on the national and European stage sky rocket. We are now regular attendees and contributors to many sector meetings in the UK and abroad including in Germany, Sweden, Holland and beyond, and I have Chaired the European Biomass to Power Conference for the past three years on behalf of the WRA.
Our reputation with external stakeholders and the UK regulators has also transformed, and we are now seen as the key organisation for our sector with a reputation for driving through change.
The past eight years has also seen a huge change in our market, with the amount of waste wood processed in the UK increasing by more than 1 million tonnes to 4.5 million in 2019. The use of waste wood in large scale biomass has also grown by over 1.5 million tonnes, while exports have dropped by more than 500,000 tonnes.
New trends
We have also seen some new trends start and ones which we predict will continue to grow. Firstly, the UK has begun to import waste wood on a large scale. Some of this was driven this year by a lack of availability in the UK due to Covid, but it is also due to an increase in demand in the UK.
We estimate around 20,000 tonnes were imported in 2019 but we know this is much higher for this year and I look forward to seeing just how high when we carry out our annual members’ survey in the New Year.
We also know that the amount of waste wood processed into small scale biomass is on the rise, as is the amount of waste wood processed into the panel board industry.
So, all in all I feel I am leaving the role as chair at a time when the industry is buoyant and reasonably resilient, despite the year we have all had!
I will be handing over the role of chair to the WRA’s current Deputy Chair Richard Coulson who I know will hit the ground running. Richard has been shadowing me and standing in for me at meetings and in media interviews over the past few months. He has also been taking a lead role, alongside our Executive Director Julia Turner, on working with regulators on the Waste Wood Classification work and other projects.
I have been asked by the WRA Board to take on the role of Deputy Chair to maintain continuity for the Board and the wider association for a while, and this is something I am more than happy to do.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to continuing as chair until the springtime. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those I have worked alongside at the WRA and who have supported me as chair, the wider industry sector and of course the WRA members without whom the association would not exist.
