The LARAC 2009 conference took place on the 7th and 8th October at Liverpool’s most modern and sustainable venue – the Arena Convention Centre. Hundreds of local authority recycling officers from across the UK came together to hear from a line-up of expert speakers, get an update on legislation and understand the latest developments affecting their workplace.

Day One – “Recycling: International and National Targets and Aspirations”

The conference was opened by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, with Ian Lucas MP, Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills giving the keynote address. Delegates were impressed with David Refkin, the President of GreenPath Sustainability Consultants and former President of America’s National Recycling Coalition who shared an overview of the US approach to recycling and President Obama’s campaign. The first day proved to be very interactive as speakers debated the key question: “Are technologies crowding out recycling?” and delegates put forward their questions and concerns.

On the afternoon delegates broke into niche seminar streams or visited one of four site visits.

Day Two – “Improving Recycling Rates”

Day Two’s agenda was equally interactive and informative. Speakers from RecycleBank and Tesco opened the morning session with presentations on how to improve recycling rates and the retailer’s perspective on recycling, the environment and packaging minimisation. Delegates learnt how a high-achieving council reached its impressive rates of recycling and speakers got down to the very basics – addressing core issues such as the cost and practicalities of recycling collections.

What did delegates think?

"The presentations were particularly interesting and were very relevant to the current pressures within the sector."
Jennifer Gosling, Supplier Relationship Officer (Waste & Parks), Westminster City Council

"The speakers at the conference covered a wide range of interesting topics which helped increase my understanding of waste management."
Rachel Cox, Waste Services Officer at North Lincolnshire Council

"Liverpool was great and I believe the best overall venue used to date."
Steve Bakewell, Senior Waste Collection Manager, Cheshire West and Chester BC

LARAC Celebration Awards

This year LARAC launched their very own awards ceremony focusing on the achievements of local authority recycling officers within the UK. The awards proved a great success with Quentin Willson hosting the evening and much dancing and fun had by all.

"It has been a tumultuous year for local government recycling but the awards provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the great work being done by local authorities and LARAC members as individuals, teams and partnerships across the UK. We had a huge number of entries for this, our first LARAC awards so thank you to all of you who have supported us in this way and to my fellow judges who took the time to scrutinise them all carefully."
Joy Blizzard, Chair, LARAC

"It was fantastic, excellent reception, food and company."
Marie Johnstone, Senior Area Waste Officer, Aberdeenshire Council

"I thought the awards were great. Very well organised and lovely food!"
Susie Collier, Communications Officer, Hampshire County Council

"A really enjoyable night. The host, Quentin Willson, was very good. The food was lovely and there was a very good atmosphere."
Michael Richardson, Waste and Contract Assistant, Gateshead Council