Meet the North West Resources Forum Executive Team: Nathan Hughes

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.

We are supported by a brilliant Executive Team, who meet prior to each NWRF meeting to set the agenda and drive the forum forward. Nathan is the Business Development Manager for Alfred H Knight, and sparked the idea for a North West forum - we're grateful to have his expertise on our Executive Team!

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

Nathan Hughes, Business Development Manager - Energy Services, Alfred H Knight

My journey into the waste sector has taken a strange and colourful road via several cul-de-sacs along the way. I started trading Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) to the cement sector in the Middle East for 3 years. From there, I moved into the incineration of fallen stock for the pig, poultry, and camel sectors in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. After three years overseas, I returned to the UK and re-joined the very company with which I had first traded waste for the cement sector. A recruitment agency then contacted me about a role with an analytical test house. At first, I dismissed it, explaining that my expertise was in trading waste as a commodity - specifically RDF and SRF as alternatives to fossil fuels. However, the company, Alfred H Knight (AHK), was in the process of acquiring a waste research business to complement its Solid Fuels and Biomass division. The rest, as they say, is history, I’ve been with AHK ever since.

Can you tell us a bit about your current role?

One day I might find myself in a yard full of municipal solid waste (MSW), the next at a state-of-the-art Energy from Waste (EfW) plant, and the following at a biomass power station. I oversee analytical testing to ensure compliance with Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) - whether that’s for EfW facilities, cement kilns, or Transfrontier Shipment (TFS) applications of alternative fuels. Our testing covers a wide range of parameters, including calorific value (CV), chlorine, POPs, and WM3 classifications for hazardous and non-hazardous materials. It’s a varied portfolio of clients and projects, and I’m very fortunate to thoroughly enjoy my role and the opportunity it gives me to help reduce landfill use and promote alternative fuels.

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

From an analytical perspective, policy changes inevitably lead to increased testing. The upcoming Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will challenge us all, and I worry the sector isn’t fully prepared. At the same time, the push toward circularity is driving more testing as organisations explore alternatives to landfill - a shift I strongly support, as it’s the right thing to do for our environment.

Why did you want to support the North West Resources Forum as part of the Executive Team?

I’ve attended the North East Recycling Forum in the North East for three years and have seen how it brings people together. I wanted to mirror that in the North West, I know the vast majority of people inside the waste sector, and I feel we can all make the difference.

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

There is one thing that is dead certain in waste – Nothing is certain.

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