About the NHHWF

Established in 1993, the National Household Hazardous Waste Forum (NHHWF) is a stakeholder-led initiative to seek practical solutions to the many problems associated with the management of household hazardous waste (HHW), including collection, recycling and safe disposal.

Experience and knowledge
HHW can be defined as "Any material discarded by a household which is difficult to dispose of or which puts human health or the environment at risk because of its chemical or biological nature." Although focusing on domestic waste, the NHHWF also considers municipal hazardous waste arising from small quantity generators in the commercial sector. HHW can contaminate recyclable and compostable waste streams, landfill leachate, and incinerator ash and emissions.

Keeping you ahead of the game
Rapidly developing environmental legislation is creating new opportunities and threats for everyone involved with HHW, from retailers to waste managers. The NHHWF offers members a unique opportunity to keep up to date with new legislation and to hear of the latest developments in HHW management.

Finding solutions
The multi-sector nature of the NHHWF enables it to research HHW issues and develop new ways of managing HHW ahead of legislative deadlines.

Creating change
The NHHWF is proactive in influencing policy, through constructive dialogue with government departments, industry associations and non-governmental bodies.

Seminars and workshops
The NHHWF runs three seminars and workshops each year. In recognition of our broad membership, seminar programmes are balanced between themes of universal interest and specific topics of more interest to a particular sector.

Seminars have included:

• the implications of the Hazardous Waste Regulations and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive
• hazardous waste at household waste recycling centres
• household battery collection and recycling and the impacts of the Battery Directive.

Executive Committee
The NHHWF is governed by an executive committee which is nominated and elected by the members. Management and administration is undertaken on behalf of the executive committee by Resource Futures. The current NHHWF executive committee was approved at the AGM in October 2006 and is constituted as follows:

Chair: Roy Watkinson, Environment Agency
Treasurer: John Wright, ICI Dulux
Company Secretary: Amanda Williamson, Resource Futures

Other committee members:
Dr Andrew Craig, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Bill Griffiths, Viridor Waste Management
Emma Kerrigan, Resource Futures
Phill Russell, West Sussex County Council
Elaine Kerrell, Environmental Consultant

David Smith, Lichfield District Council
Roger Spurr, Derbyshire County Council

Contact details for the executive committee members, and a full list of member organisations, are available to members of the NHHWF here.

The Oil Care Campaign
The NHHWF also manages the Oil Care Campaign in partnership with the Environment Agency. The Oil Care Campaign is a national initiative which aims to reduce incidents of oil pollution. For further details see www.oilbankline.org.uk.