John Woodruff joins ADBA's board to represent local authorities

ADBA PRESS RELEASE

John Woodruff, Head of Waste Services at Bromley Council and Chair of the National Association for Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), has been announced as the latest member of The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) board.

NAWDO is a leading network for senior waste managers working for Waste Disposal Authorities in England and Wales.

In his capacity as Head of Waste Services at the London Borough of Bromley, John is responsible for all refuse and recycling collections, the operation of two Reuse and Recycling Centres and a Waste Transfer Station.  He also leads on the development and implementation of the Council’s strategies, service improvements and budgetary implications to achieve the Council’s waste minimisation and recycling targets, as well as the government’s statutory targets.

In a previous private sector role in the waste industry, John introduced recycling centres across Kent and South London and the first kerbside recycling services on behalf of local authorities in Kent and London.

As board member he will be supporting all of ADBA’s work, including the programme for the forthcoming conference at UK AD & Biogas 2012, ‘AD Your Missing Link’ which will have an entire day’s programme focused on local authority issues at the NEC Birmingham, 4-5 July.

John Woodruff said:

Waste is one of the most important and visible local authority services and local authorities need to make sure that they deal with waste in the most sustainable way possible as well as providing value for money for tax payers.

 

Anaerobic digestion is the most sustainable treatment option for food and garden waste offering the lowest environmental impact, as recognised by Defra in the waste review. I look forward to working with ADBA to expand the reach of this technology in local authority settings and facilitating closer working between local authorities and the AD industry.

ADBA Chairman Lord Redesdale welcomed Mr Woodruff’s appointment, saying,

 I am very pleased that John has accepted the invitation to join ADBA’s board. Local Authorities – through the provision of household collection services – have control over a huge proportion of the organic food and garden waste we generate which should be treated by AD.

 

It is therefore absolutely vital that the AD industry understands the issues that Local Authorities face, not least financial constraints and public opinion, and that we work together to look at how the potential of this valuable waste resource can be maximised given those constraints. I look forward to working with John to increase the dialogue between Local Authorities and the AD industry, and ultimately helping more councils to send their organic waste to AD plants.

 

If the AD industry reaches its potential it could be worth £3bn and create 35,000 jobs, while generating a flexible form of renewable energy and valuable biofertiliser. Getting Local Authority organic waste into AD is therefore of huge strategic importance to the UK.