Waste and Recycling

South-East County Leaders (SECL) waste and resources summit - 27 October 2006

The average household gets rid of one tonne of waste a year and with plans to introduce yet more housing into the South East, Hampshire County Council hosted a round table summit on waste and resources. The summit, entitled "We're not talking about rubbish - we're talking about resources!", was held on behalf of county council leaders in the south east as part of a campaign for investment in infrastructure to support future development.

We’re not talking rubbish - We’re talking resources! successfully brought together key people including supermarket giants Tesco, the packaging industry, housing developers and local authorities challenging current practices and encouraging organisations to view waste as a resource. The summit was a key step in changing the way we think about waste and embracing a radical change in direction.

The following documents provide more detail on the event:

• Joint Hampshire County Council and South East County Leaders press release  
• Programme
• Presentations
• Welcome, Introduction, Facing the challenges
• Getting the basics right – easier, cheaper and more efficient
• Putting the right things in the right place – systems and infrastructure
• Closing the loop – using waste as a resource

• Summary outcomes - 'The call to action'
• Summit Report (to follow)

The summit was considered a great success with comments commending the use of a facilitated discussion to share views. All attendees went away having decided on a "call to action" to take back to their respective organisations in order to move the agenda forward. The event attracted national coverage with BBC News 24 broadcasting from the summit throughout the day as well as items appearing in specialist publications, regional press, radio stations and on BBC South.