WasteMINZ Board election 2024
WasteMINZ Board members provide governance and strategic direction for WasteMINZ, monitor the organisation's performance, and protect the integrity of the organisation.
The Board consists of six WasteMINZ financial members who are elected for a term of two years. Three of the six elected Board members complete their two-year terms at alternate annual general meetings, so there are three spaces available.
This year, we have received five nominations, which you can see below in alphabetical order:
- Andy Bedford, Ecogas
- Dave Bull, HAIL Environmental
- Paul Evans, Localised
- Parul Sood, Auckland Council
- Rob Wilson, EcoCentral
For more info on the Board voting process, see these FAQs.
Andy Bedford, North Island Manager - Ecogas
Dave Bull, Director, Site Contamination Specialist - HAIL Environmental
Dave has been on the WasteMINZ Board the past two years – the only site contamination specialist ever to be elected. He has been a WasteMINZ member since 2006, and a regular conference speaker with hits including the 2019 keynote 'Ban Remediation'.
Dave is a director of site contamination specialist consultancy HAIL Environmental as well as land developer Maungateitei Development and climate change adaptation charity BOEE. He is a Certified Environmental Practitioner – Site Contamination, a chartered chemist, and a member of the Institute of Directors.
Dave loves soil, hates waste, and wants WasteMINZ to lead change for the better. Towards reuse of soil, options for organics, clarity on landfill levies, quality contaminated land management, and no municipal incineration.
Paul Evans, Chair - Localised
Paul is excited to stand for election. With two years on the board and seven years as Chief Executive of WasteMINZ, Paul has helped to drive significant progress in shaping the organisation's direction and influence.
During his tenure, he played an important role in building stronger relationships with key stakeholders and expanding the organisation's reach across Aotearoa. Since stepping down as Chief Executive, Paul has worked closely with government and industry as a governance professional.
As a chartered director, Paul currently serves on several boards, bringing his expertise in environmental sustainability to the forefront. His leadership as Chair of Localised has supported community-led resource recovery initiatives, such as the Onehunga Community Recycling Centre, a flagship project that has set a benchmark for local resource recovery efforts.
Paul deeply understands the importance of strong governance, recognising that it is vital to driving positive change. He is particularly passionate about advancing the waste management, resource recovery, and contaminated land sectors in Aotearoa, recognising the critical role these areas play in building a sustainable future for the country.
His proven track record of leadership, strategic insight, and collaborative approach, which values the input of all stakeholders, positions him as a valuable candidate, committed to driving meaningful progress and making a tangible difference within WasteMINZ and beyond
Parul Sood, Deputy Director Resilience & Infrastructure - Auckland Council
Rob Wilson, Operations Manager - EcoCentral
Rob is the Operations Manager for EcoCentral Limited, a Canterbury-based business operating three refuse transfer stations and resource recovery centres, a materials recovery facility (MRF), and the EcoShop resale shop. These facilities receive, process and divert waste for many residents and commercial operators in the region. EcoCentral’s MRF is the second largest semi-automated sorting plant in NZ and processing kerbside recycling for Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council and a number of other smaller councils in the Canterbury region.
Over the last 15+ years, Rob has been involved in residential kerbside collection contracts, commercial waste, earthquake construction and demolition processing and most recently transfer station and recycling plant operation. Rob and EcoCentral have contributed to discussions on the changing landscape of the waste industry providing unbiased processing perspectives to the challenges presented by current approaches and practical suggestions on improvements. EcoCentral focusses its attention on finding ways to make dealing with unwanted products easy and promote avenues to avoid and reduce waste, reuse and recover unwanted products and contribute to a more circular approach in NZ.
Rob has been an active member of the WasteMINZ Product Stewardship Sector Group steering committee since 2020 and joined the Reuse Working Group and the Recycling and Resource Recovery Sector Group steering committee in 2023.
Rob has considerable practical expertise in waste and resource management in civil defence and critical incidents. This has been developed from a previous career as an officer in the NZ Army and subsequently successfully managing waste during earthquake, severe weather and pandemic events and responses in Canterbury.
Rob has also been a member of the Institute of Directors since 2023, completing a number of courses, including the Company Directors Course in 2024.
Rob is confident that his experience with WasteMINZ's sector groups, an operator's perspective on waste issues and governance learning through the Institute of Directors will positively benefit the WasteMINZ Board and wider industry.