{"id":497830,"date":"2026-03-27T06:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T06:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497830\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T06:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T06:58:19","slug":"appointments-round-up-25-03-2026-letsrecycle-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497830\/","title":{"rendered":"Appointments Round-Up (25\/03\/2026) – letsrecycle.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Shrubsole to take over as Director for Circular Economy at Defra
\n\"Becky<\/a>Becky Shrubsole, Defra; Image credit: Parliament TV<\/p>\n

Rebecca Shrubsole is set to take on the role of Director for Circular Economy at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), following the transition of Emma Bourne to Director General for EU Reset and Trade.<\/p>\n

Shrubsole, currently Director of Ministerial, Growth and Resilience, is an established leader within Defra, with extensive experience working in partnership with businesses, local authorities and devolved governments.<\/p>\n

Bourne will formally begin her new position in February, stepping into a key role shaping the UK\u2019s EU engagement and trade strategy.<\/p>\n

In the interim, Simon James has taken on the circular economy director role.<\/p>\n

James brings experience from his time as deputy director in the Joint Air Quality Unit, where he spent three years leading the government\u2019s NO2 Programme\u2014one of the UK\u2019s largest air quality initiatives delivered jointly by Defra and the Department for Transport.<\/p>\n

EMR appoints Andy Hearl to drive circular solutions for wind turbine waste
\n\"Andy<\/a>Andy Hearl, EMR<\/p>\n

EMR Metal Recycling has appointed Andy Hearl as Renewables Operations and Projects Manager, strengthening its capabilities in wind turbine recycling and circular economy solutions.<\/p>\n

The appointment comes as the volume of end-of-life turbines grows across the UK and Europe, increasing pressure on the sector to recover materials and reduce waste.<\/p>\n

Hearl will be based at EMR\u2019s Wind Turbine Processing Centre in Glasgow, where he will focus on scaling reuse, repurposing and recycling solutions for decommissioned assets.<\/p>\n

Hearl joins from 1 Stop Wind, bringing operational experience across turbine maintenance and repair.<\/p>\n

He commented: \u201cMy ambition is to build\u00a0EMR\u2019s renewables recycling operations into a scalable and sustainable part of the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means taking what we\u2019re doing in Glasgow and rolling it out across the UK, into Europe and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe speed of acceleration down the road to net zero depends on how we handle today\u2019s assets, and that\u2019s what makes this role so exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Symons joins as Service Member Lead of the WRA Board
\n\"Mike<\/a>Mike Symons, WRA<\/p>\n

Wood Recyclers\u2019 Association (WRA) has appointed Michael Symons as Service Member Lead on its Board, following confirmation at its Annual General Meeting in Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n

Symons, Head of Sales at CRJ Services, brings more than a decade of experience in the waste and recycling sector, with a strong focus on wood recycling and biomass markets.<\/p>\n

He has played a key role in developing national sales strategy and strengthening supply chain relationships across the UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n

Symons said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to join the WRA Board as Service Member Lead. The wood recycling industry is evolving rapidly, and I\u2019m looking forward to using my experience to support members, champion best practice and contribute to the sector\u2019s continued growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Symons joins the WRA\u2019s eight other Board Members, including seven elected members and the Executive Director, Julia Turner.<\/p>\n

He replaces Spencer Caldwell, who stepped down after two years in December 2025 after moving into a different sector.<\/p>\n

Mark Hayton, Chair of the WRA, added: \u201cWe are very pleased to welcome Michael to the Board as our new Service Member Lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis insight and strong industry relationships will be a valuable asset to the WRA as we continue to support a safe, innovative and forward-looking wood recycling sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zero Waste Scotland announces two new Non\u2011Executive Board Members
\n\"Alison<\/a>Alison McRae, ZWS<\/p>\n

Zero Waste Scotland has appointed Alison McRae and Mary Michel as Non-Executive Board Members, commencing their tenure immediately.<\/p>\n

McRae is Senior Director at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and founder of the Circular Glasgow initiative, which supports businesses in adopting circular economy practices.<\/p>\n

She brings experience in strategic partnerships and sustainable economic development.<\/p>\n

Michel is Co-Founder of Ostrero and a trustee of Circular Communities Scotland.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/a>Mary Michel, ZWS<\/p>\n

She has a strong background in education, system change and circular innovation, working to embed sustainable thinking across organisations.<\/p>\n

Dominic Fry said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to welcome Alison and Mary to our Board. Their combined expertise will help accelerate our transition to a more resource-efficient and resilient economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlison\u2019s strategic leadership and thorough understanding of the business landscape, combined with Mary\u2019s expertise in circular education, advocacy, and system change, is sure to galvanise Zero Waste Scotland\u2019s work in accelerating our transition to a more resource\u2011efficient, resilient, and future-proof economy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rebecca Shrubsole to take over as Director for Circular Economy at Defra Becky Shrubsole, Defra; Image credit: Parliament…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-497830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}