Hewitt becomes IWM president

Roger Hewitt of Castle Environmental took the oath of office as the new president of the Institute of Waste Management at its annual IWM show last week.

He used his presidential speech to deliver the key message, namely that "it is difficult to anticipate how the objectives of the Waste Strategy will be achieved without the cost of waste management increasing dramatically in both the public and private sectors".

In an overview of the recently launched National Waste Strategy for England & Wales, Hewitt outlined the roles to be played by government, industry, pressure groups, the media and the public if the strategy's objectives are to be achieved.

In what many would see as a statement of the obvious he said: "Economics in practice exert more influence than any other factor. The future of sustainable waste management and development relies on getting the economic equation to balance."

He said that producer responsibility was also part of the key to the success of recycling and said the concept had to be widened to embrace industry, commerce and the general public.

Hewitt also stressed that the Government should take a strong lead. "The absence of government intervention to achieve the Waste Strategy's stated objectives will be the strongest factor in under-performance and failure to secure those objectives," he said.

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