The clocks going back and the nights now drawing in have only added to the sense of foreboding that seems to pervade right now. Here in Wales we are coming towards the end of our latest national lockdown just as England is about to enter its four weeks of strict controls.
As an industry, compared to where we were in March at the outset of the first lockdown, we are ready, and all geared up for what this means for keeping waste services going. That is testament to all the hard work and efforts of all local authority officers and staff and the contractors a lot of them work with.
The trouble is that that hard work has been going on for a long time now and, simply put, most of you are probably knackered. The latest developments with the Covid-19 situation mean you will not be getting a break anytime soon either. On top of that all the “normal” stuff you do as part of your day jobs has not gone away.
Virtual LARAC
Even though it was a virtual event, it was good to hear how much people still valued the recent LARAC Conference as a chance to leave the day job behind for a short while. I know most of those attended will have been dipping in and out of their emails as they watched the various presentations, but in the multi-channel world we now live in, for many that was still enough of a change. As Carole highlighted in her last blog, we feel we put something on that was unique and, in a way, really needed by LARAC members. We also really hope we do not have to do it again next year and that we can all gather in Birmingham for a “normal” UK LARAC conference.
Money, money, money
There was a lot of talk at the event about the next round of consultations on consistency, DRS and EPR. Rightly so, given some of the fundamental changes they will bring to how council waste services operate and are funded. The thing is, that last piece, the funding part, is still being talked about in the pre Covid-19 world. In theory we were coming out of ten years of public sector funding cuts last year, brought about by a financial crash. However, the Covid-19 situation has brought another financial crash, which has meant the government borrowing huge amounts of money. This crash was caused by a pandemic rather than greedy bankers, but the potential impacts of public sector funding could be the same.
So, it will be interesting to see, when the consultations come out next year, if this aspect of the next five years is seen in what is proposed. I really hope a way is found to put the money into the system that is needed. After years of seeing nothing from the PRN funds, now was to be the time that council waste services got the funds they needed to provide the services that will bring about consistently high recycling levels.
In the meantime, make sure you take timeout, where you can, to look after yourself. We are most definitely in for a marathon not a sprint.
