Z1205/238

Male. General Manager of Shanks Landfill b. 16.01.1967 SIDE A (00 mins)Family from Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Rural life changes to lots of housing development through the years. One younger brother. Father an engineer, Head of Modifications at a machine tool firm. Mother a bursar at a school in Leicestershire. At that time rare to have both parents working. (05 mins)Went to school in Hinckley in Leicestershire, then to John Clevedon College. Knew at age 2 or 3 what he wanted to do later in life, which was to create quarries. Grandfather a coal miner and keen gardener. (10 mins)At that time he was drawn to geology. Went to Kingston Polytechnic. Education involved environmental legislation. Proved to be a passport into management of quarrying and waste management. After university did a masters degree in geological materials at University Of London. Joined London company called Green Ham Construction Materials Ltd, sand, gravel and concrete company. (15 mins)Given sites in West London to look after. Made redundant after three years in 1992. Went to America for a holiday and came back to a job offer as a consultant in Birmingham. In 1993, Douglas Concrete and Aggregates offered him a job. (20 mins)Joined the management as their Planning Estates and Development Manager. Stayed for five years. He was secretary and treasurer of the Sand and Gravel Association in the West Midlands. Job as South West Commercial Manager & Development Manager at Aggregate Industries in UK. He moved to Bristol with family. Eventually became Regional Commercial Manager in the South West. (25 mins)Following restructuring, he left and went to Shanks Waste Services as Area Manager. From 1995 the lack of acceptance of landfill in the UK grew. Raw materials could be commercially recovered rather than thrown away. Waste recovered included plastic, cardboard, paper, glass, etcetera. (30 mins)He runs "Shanks" compost business. Woodchip used for secondary fuels for powers stations. UK at the forefront of how to deposit waste in holes in the ground. This system produces significant amounts of electricity in Marston Vale area. End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Our recycling systems are a long way from countries in Northern Europe such as Holland and North Germany. If improved technologies are not introduced by 2020 there will be a breach of government targets and European legislations. Lakes in the Marston Vale area have ecological value such as great crested newts. (05 mins)Marston Vale will return to a wooded vale. If incineration is not going to be pursued then we will still be reliant on landfill. (10 mins)Domed landfill, although not aesthetically acceptable, there are good technical engineering reasons for doing it. As it settles it will be seen as an acceptable part of our heritage. Rolling restoration programmes at Stewartby and the site of Brogborough. (15 mins)Leaving individual homes to separate waste will have a bigger future. Shanks have acquired eco-deco technology or mechanical biological treatment. The fuel can be burnt in power stations to give electricity, not in Beds but in Europe. (20 mins)Shanks promoting mechanical biological treatment in the UK won the East London Waste Authority Management tender a 25-year contract. Waste a resource that needs to be recovered for re-use. (25 mins)The rise and use of the motorcar and the volume of traffic on the roads is the biggest change. Lack of alternative transport. Pressures on land now quite intense. (30 mins)The biggest challenge is how we integrate with society. Parts of the Vale will come under pressure for alternative forms of development. End of Side B End Of Interview Original Interview 60 mins.

17 July 2003

From: 1965 To: 2003

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engineer, bursar, quarries, coal miner, University, manager, landfill, waste disposal, electricity, TRANSPORT, Nuneaton, STEWARTBY, BROGBOROUGH