Industry Thanks Laura Heywood

A Lifetime Achievement Award has been bestowed on Laura Heywood for her 25-year contribution to the imaging aftermarket, mainly in the UK.

150 people attending the Europe Live Conference in Warsaw, Poland, applauded her. Heywood is no stranger to accolades. Kleen Strike, the business she started with her husband Don in the 1980s was honoured as Remanufacturer of The Year in 1999 by The Recycler and awarded the Rochdale Business Award in the category of the Environment in 2014. That business continues to prosper today.

“The Lifetime Achievement Award is the most personal to me,” Heywood said. “It is the culmination of many years of working with like-minded people hoping to make a difference in encouraging reuse.”

Let’s Associate!

[Photo: Leaders of the two associations supporting the remanufacturing of printer cartridges. Vincent van Dijk, the General Secretary of ETIRA (the European Toner & Inkjet Remanufacturer’s Association) congratulates Laura Heywood (Secretary of UKCRA, the UK national trade association) in Warsaw, Poland. Photo courtesy The Recycler.]

Van Dijk told the conference Heywood “has worked relentlessly on behalf of its members, and despite its small budget, has secured many benefits for the industry.” He added, “The Lifetime Achievement Award was a perfect recognition of a person who, for many years, has spent a major part of her own time and money to help our industry forward.”

Noted Achievements

As Secretary of UKCRA, Heywood:

• contributed to the ASPRG report which was tabled in the UK Parliament along with major corporates and environmental groups on printer cartridge reuse;
• encouraged and joined representatives of the European and American industry associations to become stakeholders in the development of the European EPEAT IEEE1680.2 environmental standard (Electrical Product Environmental assessment Tool);
• lobbied with the government and secured the support of MEP Chris Davies, to support ETIRA on the EU Commission’s procurement policy;
• lobbied the UK industry to encourage their MEP’s to include wording in the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive) that became European law in 2003 regarding waste electrical and electronic equipment;
• represented the aftermarket industry at several environmental workshops headed by the UK’s Environment Agency (EA) and Dept. of the Environment (DEFRA) which led to England and Wales being exempt from waste management licensing;
• reported on many occasions to the Advertising Standards Authority, now the CMA (Competition & Marketing Authority) on disingenuous advertising and practices by printer manufacturers.