Speaking against the backdrop of the Resource Revolution campaign, key sponsor FCC Environment confirmed that it is looking to enter into more strategic partnerships with businesses and the third sector to move waste further up the hierarchy.

FFC’s group development director Richard Belfield told edie that taking a more consultant-led approach was now essential for firms such as his.

“Advising suppliers will help and that means making sure that businesses and local authorities know how to make the most from their waste,” he said.

“It means that they get a share in the value of that material. It also ensures that the material can find a new life rather than being landfilled.”

Reflecting on the circular economy, Belfield said that waste management firms had to understand better the implications of looking more closely at material and product lifecycles.

“We are now part of a process – manufacturing product which we sell back into a circular economy. We need to be sure that we get the best value from the raw material – the consumer’s waste – by creating the products that the market wants,” he stressed.

This would require a fundamental change in thinking for the industry, he added.

“We are no longer at the end of a linear chain where waste gets put in the ground and forgotten about … there are challenges to finding the right use for all of our waste.”

Read Richard Belfield’s thoughts in full on the Resource Revolution campaign and the circular economy

Maxine Perella

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