VERDANT’S THIRD PORTFOLIO MANAGER APPOINTMENT LEADS FURTHER INTERNAL PROMOTION

Sevenoaks, Kent, 31st March 2008 – Municipal services specialist Verdant Group Plc, has appointed its third contract portfolio manager following continuing business expansion. This in turn has led to the internal promotion of an operations manager to business manager.

The new contract portfolio manager position has been filled by Mick Gumble, who was Verdant’s business manager for its Arun District Council contract. As a result, the Arun business manager role now rests with Laura Greenfield-Parker, formerly operations manager on the contract.

Seven contracts for Gumble
Gumble’s promotion, effective from March, means he will have overall operational responsibility for Verdant’s waste, recycling and cleansing contracts with seven local authorities - Bridgend, Camberley, Arun, Chiltern, South Bucks, South Oxfordshire and Wycombe.

These contracts involve approximately 400 Verdant staff and 170 vehicles collecting around 98,000 tonnes of waste and 71,000 tonnes of recyclables annually.

Gumble joined Verdant in 2005 as business manager for its Arun contract, overseeing 135 staff servicing waste and recycling collections, street and beach cleansing, and the award-winning Arun Green Waste Club. He was previously employed by Cleanaway Ltd and MRS Environmental Services.

Verdant managing director Roger Edwards said: “Verdant’s continuing expansion in the local authority market, a key part of Greenstar UK’s growth strategy, dictated our need for a third portfolio manager. Having proved his capabilities at Arun, Mick was the ideal candidate for the position, and I have every confidence that he will be a valuable management asset for the business.”

Gumble added: “I’m delighted to be promoted to this position of responsibility at this exciting time for Verdant.”

Arun’s new manager

Arun’s waste, recycling and street and beach cleansing services are now being managed by Laura Greenfield-Parker, following her promotion to business manager. 

Verdant was awarded Arun District Council’s seven year contract in 2005 and implemented wide-ranging changes to improve the district’s recycling rate. A record recycling rate of 40% was achieved in 2007, and the Verdant-managed Arun Green Waste Club won the Best Partnership Project category of the National Recycling Awards late last year.

Laura, a Reading University graduate, joined Verdant in April 2005 when she was appointed collection supervisor at Arun. Two years later, she was promoted to operations manager, helping ensure residents received a high standard of waste and recycling collection services, as well as street cleansing.

Laura holds professional qualifications in workplace health & safety (IOSH Managing Safely), first aid (First Aid At Work), traffic management (Lantra Award Sector 12D Ti Traffic Management) and road haulage (Certificate of Professional Competence ion Road Haulage), and also has an LGV Class 2 license.

Working on Arun’s contract has a tradition of fostering management development of Verdant staff.  Karen Sherwood, a former colleague of Laura’s who was the recycling education officer at Arun, is now manager of its Wycombe contract.

Commenting on Laura’s promotion, Mick said: “I’m pleased that her hard work and commitment over the last few years has been rewarded. She worked closely with me to develop a high quality service in Arun, and I’ve every confidence that she has the skills, experience and confidence to improve it still further.”

Laura, who highlights her strong relationship with Arun District Council and with the Verdant workforce, said: “To say I’m thrilled is an understatement! I look forward to the opportunities and challenge that lie ahead, and give Arun residents my promise that I will do my utmost to provide a service of which they can be proud.”

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About Verdant

Verdant Group Plc, part of the Greenstar UK group, provides waste collection, recycling and cleansing services for an expanding local authority customer base in England and Wales. It makes an estimated 20 million-plus waste and recycling collections annually on behalf of its 20 current local authority customers. Recent additions to its portfolio include a seven year waste, recycling and cleansing contract for Stratford-on-Avon District Council; seven year cleansing, waste and recycling contracts for Rother District Council and Swale Borough Council; a seven year recycling, refuse and cleansing contract for South Buckinghamshire District Council; and, as its first London borough contract, a six year waste collection and recycling service for Waltham Forest Council. During 2007, Verdant also started a six year management contract for seven of Kent County Council’s 12 household waste recycling centres. Other current local authority customers include Melton, Anglesey, Gosport, Mid Bedfordshire, South Bedfordshire, Bridgend, South Oxfordshire, Chiltern, Arun, Surrey Heath, Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe. The Verdant-operated Arun Green Waste Club won the Best Partnership Project category at the 2007 National Recycling Awards, and Verdant also won the Best Commitment to Health & Safety Practice category of the 2005 National Recycling Awards.

For further media information, contact:

Blair Drummond, Verdant PR consultant – tel (m) 07798 686 217, email blair.drummond@btopenworld.com