New Chair for ADEPT National Waste Group – Suffolk’s Steve Palfrey takes over from Ian Fielding
The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) has announced the new Chair of its Waste Group.
Steve Palfrey, Assistant Director for Waste and Environment at Suffolk County Council, will take over from Ian Fielding from January 2021.
Mr Palfrey has always played an active role in championing the interests of local authorities in the waste sector nationally. A former chair of the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), Mr Palfrey also spent five years as a member of the national executive of LARAC (Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee).
He has worked in local government for 25 years, mostly in the waste management field with spells at Essex, Dorset and Somerset County Councils before joining Suffolk in 2010. In his role as Chair, Mr Palfrey will also represent ADEPT at national level including on stakeholder groups for the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy.
Mr Palfrey said: “I’m looking forward to my new role as Chair of ADEPT’s Waste Group at this critical time when the expectations on local authorities, the waste services we provide to residents and the funding we receive, are all about to fundamentally change in support of the circular economy. Ian Fielding has been a fantastic Chair and his contribution over the years has been massive. I and all the Waste Group wish him well for the future.”
Mr Fielding, who is retiring from North Yorkshire County Council, was a member of ADEPT’s Waste Group for 15 years, becoming Chair in 2016.
Praising Mr Fielding, ADEPT President, Nigel Riglar said: “I would like to thank Ian for his hard work as Chair of the Waste Group. He has steered the Group through select committee appearances, and provided leadership at a time when there has been increased attention on how we manage our consumption, waste, plastics and the drive for a truly circular economy.
“I would also like to recognise how Ian has led the Group through the pandemic, working with Defra, providing evidence on the experience of local authorities and working with our partners in compiling the waste survey through the first period of national lockdown.”