RECYCLING INDUSTRY APPOINTS FORMER MINISTER AS CEO

The Australian Council of Recyclers (ACOR) today announced the appointment of former senior Queensland Government Minister, Rod Welford, as its new national Chief Executive.

Announcing the part-time appointment today, ACOR President, Mike Haywood, said it reflected the Council’s desire to bring more high-level environmental policy expertise to the peak-body organisation.

“Rod Welford has tremendous credentials as one of Australia’s leading environmental policy experts and we are delighted to secure a person of his calibre,” Mr Haywood said.

“His knowledge, expertise and respect will assist our members and provide significant benefits in the development of policy for the recycling and resource recovery industry.

ACOR is Australia’s peak industry association representing companies involved in recovering secondary resources. The industry currently reprocesses more than 20,000,000 tonnes of material in Australia annually and directly employs more than 10,900 people in resource recovery activities and indirectly employs more than 27,700.

Mr Welford said he was looking forward to the challenge of working with ACOR members to ensure that Australia seized the huge economic and environmental benefits of recycling and resource recovery.

“Recycling technologies and infrastructure have growing environmental significance in a ‘climate change’ world and can make an enormous contribution to the reduction of our national carbon footprint,” Mr Welford said

“There is an opportunity to achieve radical resource efficiencies in energy and other waste ‘resources’ through cleaner production and industrial ecology technologies that successfully close the loop on all resource inputs, not just material ones.

“This is the next generation of thinking for governments to adopt”.

Mr Welford said he planned to assist organisations here and overseas to grow opportunities for job-creating sustainable businesses that could address climate change successfully and profitably.

“While much is said about the threats to business from global warming and proposed carbon trading systems, forward-thinking companies will identify opportunities for innovative, resource-efficient business practices which will win consumer support.

“Within Australia, the challenge is to ensure we put in place government policy settings which are as nationally consistent as possible and conducive to the growth of those businesses that can lead our economy down the path of sustainability.”

Contacts: Mike Haywood on 0407400071 and Rod Welford on 0419677283

12 August, 2009

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