Meet the North West Resources Forum Executive Team: John Birch

In April 2025, we launched the North West Resources Forum, a community for waste and resources professionals across the North West to share best practice, hear the latest innovations and network with colleagues from across the sector.

As a forum our purpose is to bring together the breadth of the waste and resources sector, from Local Authorities to Private Sector Waste Companies to Third Sector Organisations. Due to the scope of our meetings and network, we sought out a variety of voices, experiences and perspectives to sit on our Executive Team.

We're pleased to have John Birch, Service Development Manager at Lancashire County Council sit on our Executive Team and offer his unique perspective on issues and opportunities in waste. He delivered an eye opening presentation at our July NWRF meeting on the challenges for Local Authorities, particularly Lancashire County Council, in preparing for the number of new regulations coming into effect, such as Simpler Recycling.

How did you first get into the waste and recycling sector?

John Birch, Lancashire County Council

After completing a degree in geology and a masters in environmental management, I started out as a sampling technician for Lancashire Waste Services, which later became part of SUEZ.  The role included monitoring landfills across Lancashire and was a great introduction to the waste sector.  I progressed

within Suez, as Assistant H&S Manager and then Environment Manager.  After 5 years I left SUEZ and, after a short stop off at the Lancashire Environmental Fund, I ended up at Lancashire County Council as a Waste Management Officer, where I've been for over 20 years in various roles.

Can you tell us a bit about your current role?

My day to day role is to manage a team responsible for partnership working with district councils, procuring the 100+ contracts the service needs to deliver its function as WDA for Lancashire and to provide the data and finance function for the service.  

I've currently been seconded as the service project lead on a Waste Transformation programme that is delivering a new municipal strategy for Lancashire, An AD plant (maybe 2), a new MRF, preparation for LGR and other projects related to our HWRC and TS network, amongst others.  

What do you see as the biggest opportunities in the sector right now?

There are so many reforms hitting the sector, such as Simpler Recycling, ETS, DRS and LGR that it's hard to pick one.  Lancashire as an authority, and as a partnership of 12 district councils, 2 unitary and a county council have the opportunity to reboot our already good services into even greater services over the coming years.   

Why did you want to support the NWRF as part of the Executive Team?

I felt privileged to be asked and saw an opportunity to use the knowledge gained from 5 years in private sector and over 20 years in the public sector to help the NWRF get established and to be part of a team with a variety of backgrounds with the aim to grow the forum and to help create agendas and visits that are relevant and interesting to organisations in the North West.

How do you see the North West waste and resources industry evolving in the next 10 years?

The last few years have felt like we've been in stasis, waiting for details of pending reforms and assessing how they will impact us and the residents of the North West. There are still some unknowns, but we have more clarity and are moving quickly to meet the new challenges ahead.

To ensure we remain 'effective and efficient', to reduce cost risk of changes, such as ETS, and to meet statutory targets, the key challenge for Lancashire is to get every single last drop out of the residual waste and to move it up the waste hierarchy.  We hope industry in the North West will react, to ensure there is a sustainable and affordable home for these materials.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting in this industry, what would it be?

In waste, you can either follow a chosen path and become a specialist in your field, or, as with myself, have several opportunities and roles that help develop a broader, multidisciplinary skillset.  Whatever suits your personality, you can become a leader in your field and you'll find you are rarely bored in waste, as change is the only constant.

Oh, and be kind and respectful.  This industry has a knack of reintroducing you to old acquaintances, so don’t burn your bridges.

The NWRF runs quarterly meetings which move around the North West region. To be the first to hear about upcoming conference at Jodrell Bank, join our mailing list.