The purpose of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is to discuss innovation in packaging development, material science, recycling technology and the infrastructure of the industry to ensure our information and tools are kept up to date and backed by evidence. The TAC addresses common and specific member queries, proposed recycling status for material types and new innovations in packaging material or recycling technologies and how they potentially impact our labelling rules and tools.
Technical Advisory Committee
Meeting quarterly, the TAC includes a diverse group of industry experts such as recyclers, NGOs, brands, packaging producers, manufacturers, retailers, compliance schemes, industry bodies, and consultants. Each member is selected for their expertise, with the committee’s composition reviewed every three years to ensure a continued high level of knowledge and representation across the industry.
Adam Herriott
Adam is a Senior Specialist at WRAP, leading a team of specialists working on the UK Plastics Pact helping the UK transition to a circular plastics economy. He has over a decade of experience working with Local Authorities and recyclers across all packaging materials.
Brian Lodge
Brian is Director of Plastics and Flexible Packaging at the BPF, and Independent Consultant on sustainable plastic packaging. He has over 40 years’ experience in the plastics industry as a designer, manager, and director, focusing on making plastic packaging more sustainable.
Denise Mathieson
Denise has over 35 years in experience in packaging, she's the Partner & Manager of Packaging Innovation & Delivery at Waitrose. Her previous roles include Sustainability Lead at Faerch and a Senior Packaging Manager at Tesco. A Fellow of IOM3, steering group member for RECOUP and a proud judge of UK Packaging Awards. She is also a very active member of UK Plastic Pact Tray 2 Tray groups.
James Skidmore
As the Head of Consulting at Valpak, James has been involved in producing a series of reports relating to packaging - assessing the impact of legislation change and quantifying material flows. James has also worked for Sainsbury’s managing waste, customer recycling and working with the packaging team on sustainability issues.
Jarno Stet
Jarno Stet is the Secretary of the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO) and Waste & Recycling Manager for the City of Westminster. Jarno has worked in the waste and resources sector since 2003 and specialises in local authority waste management.
Karen Graley
Karen has worked as Packaging Innovation and Delivery Manager at Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. She is one of the original Directors of OPRL, serving on the Board since 2009. Waitrose was one of the founding partners working with the BRC and WRAP to develop the OPRL label. Karen is a member of the Government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging.
Kevin Vyse
Kevin has spent 40 years in the packaging business and is qualified as an industrial designer and a packaging engineer. Over these years he has worked with some of the biggest retailers, brands and manufacturers as a designer, engineer and technologist. He's a former Non-Executive Director of OPRL and an associate board member of INCPEN, with a Fellowship from the Institute of Materials, Mining and Minerals in 2020.
Matt Harris
Matt is Head of Packaging Moy Park and has worked within the food Industry for 20+ years in a variety of Packaging R&D, Operations and Innovation roles across the red meat & poultry industries. He’s delivered award winning packaging innovations, developed sustainable packaging strategies and provides Packaging direction & leadership at a Global level for JBS.
Natasha Cook
Natasha is the Packaging Manager at Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited. She provides subject matter expertise on all aspects of packaging and is responsible for shaping and delivering the Morrisons packaging sustainability strategy. Natasha joined Morrisons in 2018, previously working as a packaging technologist at Sainsburys and holds a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Paul Davidson
Paul joined UKRI in 2020 as Director for the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge programme. He has over 20 years’ experience in the field of plastics, including his time at SABIC where he was responsible for European market development for flexible packaging resins. Paul holds a first degree in Materials Science and Technology and a PhD in the processing of PET.
Roger Wright
Roger is the Waste Strategy & Packaging Manager at Biffa, bringing his retail experience to Waste Management. By developing a unique service that helps businesses think differently about the packaging they consume and become more circular, he designs-out the materials they don’t need, and implements the scalable alternatives they do.
Russell Granville
Russell is the Senior Projects Manager in Amcor, responsible for the Recycling flexible packaging journey with a focus on the Retailers. He has 35 years experience with Flexible packaging ranging from Compostable / renewable commercial products to replacing complex multi layer laminates with mono PE or PP solutions. Russell has a passion for Sustainability.
Severine Mongauze
Severine is the Packaging Sustainability Senior Manager at Unilever. She has held different positions within Unilever, first in Packaging Development and then, since 2015, in Packaging and Plastic Sustainability. Severine has a background and experience in Circular Economy, design for recycling and end-of-life management of packaging in the European region.
Timothee Duret
Tim is Director of Sustainable Technology at Veolia. He has a masters in Environmental Technologies and over 12 years of experience in the recycling industry, covering plastic, recycling infrastructure design, composting, alternative fuels, and biomass. He is a member of the OPRL Technical Advisory Committee and the UK Plastics Pact Advisory group.
The OPRL Team
TAC is supported by OPRL's Jude Allan - Interim Managing Director, Alice Harlock - Director of Technical and Member Services, Emily Gardiner - Packaging and Recycling Manager, and Linda Fell - TAC Secretary.