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INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE ASSOCIATION
Promoting sustainable waste management worldwideISWA
REPORT
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Acknowledgments
Editor and responsible for the content: ISWA General Secretariat.
Contributing authors: John Ferguson, Jeff Cooper and Jens Aage Hansen provided valuable input and comments. Thanks go also to the Chairs of the ISWA Working Groups and to the Chair of the ISWA Scientific and Technical Committee for their contributions. Consulting regarding sustainability reporting was received from Karl Resel, Denkstatt GmbH. Photos: ISWA General Secretariat. Historical photographs were provided by Zsuzsanna Pfeiffer and Wojciech Rogalski.
ISWA Report 2010
ISWA – the International Solid Waste Association – is a global, independent and non-profit making association, working in the public interest to promote and develop sustainable waste management. ISWA has members in more than 60 countries and is the only worldwide association promoting sustainable, comprehensive and professional waste management.
The Association is open to individuals and organizations from the scientific community, public institutions and public and private companies from all over the world working in the field of and interested in waste management. Being part of ISWA gives you an unparalleled access to international organizations. Through our Working Groups, we help these international organizations form policy by supplying technical papers and opinions regarding waste practices. ISWA is the only worldwide waste organization, which allows you to net-work with professionals, companies and institutional representatives.
This report is printed on recycled paper produced of 100 % recovered fibre, manufactured without optical brightening agents and chlorine bleaching.
This report is also available in electronic format on www.iswa.org 02
Forewords
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1.
Over the Waste Hill? ISWA is 40!
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2.
Mission and Objectives
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3.
Organizational Structure
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4.
Promotion of Sustainable Waste Management
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4.1.
Congresses and Conferences
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4.2.
Scientific and Technical Committee
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4.3.
Working Groups
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4.4.
Projects 2009/2010
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4.4.1. White Paper on Waste and Climate Change
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4.4.2. Knowledge Base
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4.4.3. TAP Centre
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4.4.4. Globalization and Waste Management
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4.5.
Publications
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4.6.
International Waste Manager Program
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4.7.
Awards
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5. Environment
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Financial Overview
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National Members
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Gold Members
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9. Sponsors
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About the report
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Table of Contents
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Fortunately, in the year we are celebrating our 40th anniversary, we can assure that a new era has started in ISWA. Its birth date was the day we celebrated our anniversary and opened our new offices in Vienna. That same day the transition process was concluded. From our comfortable and centrally located offices, a competent team, conducted by our Managing Director, now covers all the technical and administrative tasks to provide the appropriate support to all our members, working groups and the implementation of our 2010-2013 Multi Annual Plan.
We wish to express our gratitude to all those people who made possible reaching the end of the process successfully, and we have to renew our gratitude to the City of Vienna for the decision of being our host and to the members of ISWA Austria for their effort, determination and patience to achieve this.
Solid waste is a global issue but solutions are local. We must be leaders in the society transformation process to respond to the two main challenges of this time: the reduction of carbon concentration in the atmosphere and the creation of a circular economy aiming at an efficient use of resources and non-generation of waste. What have we done in 2010 to respond to such demanding strategic objectives? Let me just point out a few highlights:
• Developed our knowledge base project, where we will gather all our experience and information.
• Strengthened our Scientific Technical Committee, by coordinating the work programs of the Working Groups with the support of the General Secretariat,
intensifying our relationship with Academia, through the invaluable help of the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors and Editorial Board of our qualified emblem: The Waste Management and Research Journal.
• The publication of the White Paper Waste and Climate Change and its distribution, among other addressees, to the delegates of the member countries of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The joint work with Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Economic Commission Latin American Countries (ECLAC) in waste management issues and climate change.
• The creation of the Working Group on Climate Change.
• The creation of the European Union subgroup within the ISWA Board and its first meeting with atives of the Environment Commissioner of the EU, to set a common agenda.
• The creation of the Training, Advisory and Promotion (TAP Center), a key piece to guarantee proper
development of sound solid waste management practices in the Asia Pacific region.
• Joint work with Environment Protection Agency of the United States (US EPA) and the Methane to Markets initiative in the organization of training courses.
• The organization of three Beacon Conferences. Conclusively I would like to express special gratitude to the members of ISWA Board of Directors for their permanent support and for their predisposition to sort differences when they arose and for sharing this passion for ISWA. I would also like to express my deep trust in the capacity of our Managing Director and all his collaborators, each of them with his/her clear responsibilities to success-fully undertake our work plan. Lastly, I would like to express my respect to all National Members since they are the source of ISWA “raison d’être” and they are the ones indicated by our Statutes and Internal Regulations so that through their active participation, daily and permanent actions the vision and mission may be promoted.
President’s Message
Best regards
05 For the ISWA General Secretariat the year 2010 has been
an eventful period with an extensive workload. In February we moved into our new, nicely renovated office in the heart of Vienna. In the following months the new team, with the best available expertise in their different areas started their work, activities and projects with high motivation. Furthermore a reorganization of the General Secretariat was implemented: With a revised, well-consid-ered slim structure and clear responsibilities an efficient administration, with best possible member support and expertise has been created. All staff members are now located at the new premises in Vienna.
As an outcome of the economic crises the number of memberships and consequently the income from member-ship fees, has decreased slightly over the last two years. Through member service activities and acquisition measures we were able to convince many members to renew their membership and also gained several new members.
Our publications have been quite a success: Since the beginning of 2010 the periodical Waste Management & Research (WM&R) has been issued monthly, instead of bimonthly. This professional journal is well known and sought after. The White Paper on Waste and Climate Change is available in its long version and as a summary; both versions have been recently updated. This compre-hensive investigation, which is available in English and Spanish, gives an excellent overview of the contribution of waste management concerning the reduction of green-house gas emissions.
We also implemented a series of projects; and here I would like to highlight two of the major ones:
ISWA inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) and the National Environment Agency (NEA), to establish and run a Training, Advisory & Promotion (TAP) Centre for waste management in Singapore. Through this agreement, the three partners demonstrate their commitment of promoting sustainable waste management and optimizing the value of waste as a resource in the Asia Pacific region with an emphasis on Singapore, China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The project Knowledge Base aims to upgrade ISWA’s technical profile and deliver ability to its members making all of the technical and scientific documents that are
produced each year available and accessible in a one-stop-shop. We are on the way to providing a comprehen-sive digital library of best quality, partly for free and partly for members only. This library will cover all relevant topics of solid waste management, cover all countries, and will be updated continuously.
Over the next years ISWA faces various challenges and complex projects. To meet all expectations and goals, and to ensure a proper project management, a Multi Annual Plan (MAP) has been created for the time period 2010 until 2013. Particularly due to the generous Vienna Grant, we now have more resources available for various activi-ties. And we have to use these resources quite carefully and meanwhile gaining the best possible results. To ensure a proper project implementation a strict and detailed schedule is required.
Finally I’d like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of you for your cooperation and effort: To the ISWA Board, particularly to the President, whose support and advice I have very much appreciated. And it has been a pleasure for me to work together with the new team, who have really taken up their responsibilities and worked very hard to cope with the heavy workload. Furthermore I want to thank the sponsors of the ISWA Report, with their contribution we were able to produce this more extensive and more comprehensive issue.
Managing Director’s Message
Best regards
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1. Over the Waste Hill? ISWA is 40!
This year ISWA celebrates its 40th anniversary. But with 14 presidencies, hundreds of conferences, publications and projects since its foundation in 1970, ISWA doesn’t seem to have reached its climax and be heading “over the hill”. On the contrary: looking at the current situation, prospects and conditions – respectively the activity of the members, the commitment of the functionaries, the quality of the staff, the financial situation, the international reputation and networking of the association - it may actually be concluded that ISWA will forge its way steeply uphill in the near future. Another reason for this being that ISWA has been founded on a very solid basis …
The Farsighted Foundation
of ISWA in 1970
Presented by
John Ferguson OBE
President of ISWA 1998 - 2000
The initial stages of international co-operation
Way back in 1928, a meeting was held between the national associations of experts responsible for municipal public cleansing in the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain to agree upon the formation of an international committee of Public Cleansing.
The United Kingdom Institute of Public Cleansing as it was entitled in the first decades of the last century and now known as the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management was continually engaged upon the interests of international co-operation. It was involved in the 1928 formation of the international committee. Lewis Herbert in his excellent book, published in 1998, reviewed the history of the UK Institution of Wastes Management over the centuries from 1898 to 1998. The first conference of the international committee took place in London in 1931. The first President of the Interna-tional Committee was JC Dawes OBE who had become the first Inspector of Cleansing and Salvage in the UK Ministry of Health in 1919 and written the landmark Dawes Report on London’s waste collection and disposal problems in 1929. JC Dawes was the President of the UK Institute of Public Cleansing for three terms of office from 1930 to 1932. The Committee was renamed as the International Associa-tion of Public Cleansing (INTAPUC) in 1931. The purpose of INTAPUC was to promote the exchange of ideas and practical knowledge in the field of public cleansing between experts and the national professional associations. Over the following decades, a series of conferences were held in major European cities to increase international co-operation. Mr. J Sumner OBE, a Fellow and Past President of then named UK Institute of Public Cleansing took an enthusiastic
part in the moves in the 1960’s towards the formation of ISWA in 1970. In 1967, INTAPUC convened their conference in Paris at which Mr. Sumner presented an international survey on the storage and collection of refuse in which returns from seventeen countries exemplified the range of average waste production per week from families in coun-tries in Europe, Canada and the United States. The average production of waste per week from a family of three persons averaged generally between 11 and 17 kg.
Meanwhile, in a decade earlier, a major event took place in Switzerland in 1955. A small group of experienced waste management specialists, based in Europe, and convened at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology discussed topical problems in waste disposal and the choice of processes such as incineration, composting and sanitary landfill. The out-come of the meeting was the formation of the International Research Group on Refuse Disposal and known as IRGRD. This Group, over the period from 1955 to 1969, established scientific research working groups in the Federal Republic of Germany, in France, Belgium, Italy, Israel, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The information bulletin of IRGRD successfully went ahead under the editorship of Dr. Rudolf Braun and located at the Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland.
The Group also progressed during this period with three successful international congresses, in 1959 in Scheveningen in the Netherlands, in 1962 in Essen in the Federal Republic of Germany, and in 1965 in Trento in Italy. The Trento Congress was most successful in the development of research and its application in the field of city sanitation and waste science.
The Third International Congress of IRGRD held in Trento in Italy from 24 to 29 May 1965
In May 1965, the International Research Group on Refuse Disposal (IRGRD) met at their third International Congress in Trento, Italy to discuss the treatment and disposal of refuse and sewage sludge. This conference in Italy was organized by the National Association of Sanitary Engineers (ANDIS - Italy).
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Prof E. de Fraja Frangipane, of Italy, led the papers given by sixteen eminent authors covering the fields of sanitary landfill, heat recovery and incineration, dust fallout, prefer-mentation of compost and the problems of sludge disposal. Prof de Fraja Frangipane presented an extensive paper on the present condition and forecasts for the future of refuse disposal in Italy.
There was much discussion at this conference in Trento on the future expansion of the science and practice of waste disposal over a greater international scale. It led rightly to the fourth International Congress of the International Research Group on Refuse Disposal (IRGRD) in June 1969 in Basel Switzerland.
The background to the Trento Congress
The atmosphere in the historic medieval and renaissance city of Trento was most enjoyable. The city lies in the Adige river valley in the alpine Dolomites region of the northern part of Italy. The city is most notable as the location of the Council of Trent, for the Ecumenical Council between 1545 and 1563. As a delegate to the Trento Congress, I was fortunate to stay in the nearby city of Levico Terme in the Grand Imperial Hotel that had been, in the past, accommodation as the summer residence for the Imperial Habsburg family of Austria. It was intriguing that the meals were taken in a separate building, as this was the Habsburg habit to have their family meals separate from where they slept and lived because they were allergic to the smells of cooking.
The delegates were warmly welcomed by the City of Trento and technical visits were arranged to the composting plants serving the Trento area and to the Merano composting plant.
The Fourth International Congress of IRGRD held in Basel in Switzerland from 2 to 5 June 1969
In reality, when we met together in Basel on the River Rhine in Switzerland, we were a large group of people with many common interests so we were willing to co-operate enthusi-astically on the effort to expand internationally.
Holding us together under the proposed banner of ISWA would offer good fortune for such an international effort. This movement forward was reflected during the discussions that took place as part of the International Research Group on Refuse Disposal (IRGRD) Congress held in Basel during the summer of 1969.
The foundation of ISWA
At the June 1969 Basel Congress, whilst giving the Welcome Speech and the first main paper entitled “International Co-operation in the Field of Waste Disposal”, it was a pleasure for Prof Dr O. Yaag of Switzerland, as Congress President, to declare that the merger would take place of the International
Association of Public Cleansing (INTAPUC) and the Inter-national Research Group on Refuse Disposal (IRGRD). On 1 January 1970, both organizations would be united under a new charter and the new name of the foundation was to be ISWA, depicting the International Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Association. The merger had found the approval of both bodies, and Prof Yaag expressed his appreciation to the American friends in IRGRD, especially to Mr. Bugher and his colleagues from the American Solid Waste Manage-ment Association for taking the initiative in all our mutual interests.
Prof Yaag continued to state that within a few months and under the new name of ISWA, the IRGRD and INTAPUC would be co-operating and working on the same problems that had before been dealt with separately. He was delighted with this development, as it would enable us to join our efforts and funds in solving the problems of environmental sanitation.
Prof Yaag emphasized that other effective co-operation was being performed by the activity of international organizations, particularly those associated with the United Nations such as the WHO, OECD, the European Council and the Atomic Energy Agencies.
All of which were furthering the work in the field of environ-mental engineering by organizing technical meetings and discussions, introductory courses and seminars, and by initiating world wide fundamental studies on special subjects and by issuing technical Bulletins.
The opportunities for international co-operation
In the second main paper presented at the Basel Congress in June 1969 entitled “Duties of the State and Local Authorities in Maintaining the Cleanliness of Our Habitat”, Prof Richard Kojetinsky of Austria outlined these duties of the state and local authorities.
At the conclusion of his paper, Prof Kojetinsky stated... “That he hoped you don’t consider it impolite, if after the European Council and World Health Organization, I’m going to talk about the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association -- ISWA. This morning, our distinguished Congress president, Prof Yaag, officially announced the merger of the International Research Group on Refuse Disposal (IRGRD) and INTAPUC into ISWA.This merger will establish the essential concentration of international co-operation, eliminate the duplication of efforts, and our capacity to tackle the many unsolved problems will be enhanced. We hope we will reach our goals better, faster and most beneficially for the general public. The prerequisites for a successful accomplishment are met. Technological and scientific work is most suitable for international co-operation, because it is almost free of
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any ideological ballast. I am still the same optimist as I was in 1964, when I made the same statement in Vienna as INTAPUC President”.
The need to continue with vigorous international co-operation
Prof Richard Kojetinsky continued to state that...”Then, I expressed my sincere hope that international co-operation and personal contacts would finally contribute to mutual understanding from country to country and that a positive effect upon the politics of our world would result therefrom. Now, let us continue the international collaboration in the
Prof Richard Kojetinsky, Austria,
first President of ISWA (1970-1976)
broad field of environmental pollution control, convinced that progress will be made for the benefit of mankind. Let us continue our work, hoping that in this sense, we may contribute a little bit to the solution of the biggest problem of the general public and government, namely to, in the end, guarantee a peaceful state of mind and a healthy life for all men”.
The welcome given to the delegates to the Basel Congress
The reception in Basel given by our hosts was warm and wel-coming. As a delegate from the UK, I enjoyed the hospitality of the municipal camping grounds, for at the time in 1969, funds for UK travelers were limited in total to £25 per person per annum. It was necessary therefore to limit expenditure when attending international conferences on waste manage-ment.
However, the municipality made great efforts to look after the delegates to the IRGRD conference and in addition provide illuminating excursions, both to technical installations and most memorably to a journey on the Rhine. Such events are very necessary for the informal discussions that take place between delegates and are of great value to the outcome of the technical sessions.
Concluding Remarks
In concluding this brief summary, ISWA has been founded on a stable basis of practical experience and academic re-search. It has drawn on the worldwide expertise of waste management.
It is essential that the consistency and quality of communi-cation between our existing members, outside organizations, and potential new members and our headquarters staff is a major factor in the growing development of ISWA. All our national members should continue to support the principles of sustainable development and promote and develop profes-sional solid waste management worldwide.
It is vital to continue to expand our National, Organization and Individual membership, to draw in the younger waste management professionals and give strength to our Working Groups. Lastly, the continuity of our programme for Beacon and Annual Congresses is essential.
ISWA Presidents 1970-2010 1970-76 R. Kojetinsky, Austria 1976-80 E. de Fraja Frangipane, Italy 1980-84 J. A. Teipel, USA
1984-88 J. Defeche, France
1988-92 J. A. Den Dulk, Netherlands 1992-96 John Skinner, USA
1996-98 Høkan Rylander, Sweden 1998-00 John Ferguson, UK 2000-02 Christoph Scharff, Austria 2002-04 Jean-Paul Leglise, France 2004-06 N.C. Vasuki, USA
2006-08 Niels Jørn Hahn, Denmark 2008-10 Atilio A. Savino, Argentina
References
de Fraja Frangipane, Prof Eugenio. ’Present Condition and Forecasts for the Future of Refuse Disposal in Italy’. Proceedings of 3rd International Congress of the IRGRD Trento (Italy) 1965. Herbert, Lewis. ‘The History of the Institute of Waste Management: 1898 – 1998: Celebrating 100 years of progress’. Institute of Waste Management (United Kingdom) ISBN 0 902944 495: 1998. Jaag, Prof.O. ‘Welcome Speech’. Proceedings of 4th International Congress of the IRGRD Basel (Schweiz) 1969.
Jaag, Prof.O.‘International Co-operation in the Field of Waste Disposal’. Proceedings of 4th International Congress of the IRGRD Basel (Schweiz) 1969.
Kojetinsky, Richard. ‘Duties of the State and Local Authorities in Maintaining the Cleanliness of Our Habitat’. Proceedings of 4th International Congress of the IRGRD Basel (Schweiz) 1969. Sumner, J.‘The Storage and Collection of Refuse – An International Survey’. International Conference of INTAPUC Paris (France) 1967.
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2. Mission and Objectives
Mission
ISWA – the International Solid Waste Association – is a global, independent and non-profit making associati-on, working in the public interest to fulfil its declared mission:
“To Promote and Develop Sustainable and Professional Waste Management Worldwide“
ISWA achieves its mission through:
• Efficiency in terms of environmental practice • Social acceptability and efficiency in terms of economic viability
• Advancement of waste management through education and training
• Support to developing countries through ISWA Development Program
• Professionalism through its program on professional qualifications.
Objectives
ISWA works to protect human health and the environ-ment and to ensure sustainable resource manageenviron-ment. The objectives of ISWA are to promote and develop sustainable and professional waste management practi-ces worldwide through scientific, economic and social instruments by:
• Providing an international network, to share knowledge, data and experience in waste management
• Organizing expert working groups to advance knowledge and expertise
• Organizing professional meetings, seminars and conferences for the dissemination of information
• Developing education and training courses on various aspects of waste management including the initiation of a qualification and certification program
• Making available the results of state-of-the-art developments, experience, research and best practices through high quality, professional publications
• Cooperating with International organizations and institutions whose goals and activities are related to ISWA‘s objectives
• Promoting and strengthening sustainable waste management practices in developing countries.
Implementation
ISWA is the only worldwide association promoting sustainable, comprehensive and professional waste management.
The Association is open to individuals and organizations from the scientific community, public institutions and public and private companies from all over the world working in the field of and interested in waste manage-ment.
ISWA is working with its unique mix of members who span the whole waste sector for the promotion and development of sustainable waste management across the world. Being a non-profit and non-governmental association, ISWA is able to promote an unbiased view of sustainable waste management. ISWA promotes and develops sustainable waste management through:
• The work of its nine Working Groups who are the drivers for ISWA’s technical work
• Organization of more than 20 professional meetings, seminars and conferences per year
• ISWA’s three Regional Development Networks (RDNs), working on key waste issues specific to Latin America, the Mediterranean/Middle East and the Asian Pacific area
• Raising professional standards through its International Waste Manager (IWM) program
• The ISWA Development Program (IDP) which funds educational and training programs focusing on sustainable waste management, as well as supports the transfer of knowledge to developing countries and economies in transition
• The ISWA task force on GHG emissions • The ISWA task force on Globalization and Waste Management
• Communication and Publication awards. ISWA is the leading international association of refe-rence for high quality professional information and advice regarding all aspects of waste management. How ISWA fulfilled its mission and objectives in 2009 and the first half of 2010 is described in chapter 4 “Promotion of Sustainable Waste Management”.
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3. Organizational Structure
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is the ruling body of ISWA. Its specific duties include establishment of membership requirements, dues, and policy. The General Assembly empowers the Board with responsibilities for managing, through the General Secretariat, the affairs of ISWA. The General Assembly meets annually at the ISWA World Congress (see chapter 4.1.).
The Board
The Board is responsible for all policies, finances, and operations of ISWA. Within the authorities assigned to it by the General Assembly, the Statutes, the Internal Regulations and Operational Guidelines, the Board assures that the mission of ISWA is met. The Board met 4 times in 2009 and 5 times in 2010, the main issues and activities were as follows:
Project Funding
Regarding the financial support of projects new guide-lines have been developed and implemented. One of the main issues was to ensure a transparent, uniform and clear decision-making process for the sound use of the Vienna grant. In accordance with the agreement between the City of Vienna and ISWA the agreed budget will be used in order to strengthen ISWA’s technical and scientific profile, to further develop ISWA’s global and country-level presence and to increase ISWA’s influence with decision-makers regarding Solid Waste Manage-ment issues.
13 Change of GS-staff
As it was decided that all staff members have to be loca-ted at the new General Secretariat´s premises in Vienna, it was necessary to establish a new team. Based on the analysis of the expertise needed, an Acting Managing Director has been selected and appropriate and qua-lified staff members have been appointed. As all open positions were able to be filled within a short period of time, the General Secretariat’s capacity to act has been ensured.
Activities in the area of the Regional Development Network (RDN)
A Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Trai-ning, Advisory & Promotion (TAP) Centre for waste ma-nagement in Singapore has been negotiated and signed. The TAP centre aims to serve as a hub for supporting ISWA member activities, facilitating ISWA programs and promoting ISWA membership in the Asia/Pacific region. The implementation is scheduled for the end of 2010 (see also chapter 4.4.3).
Beacon Conferences
In 2010 three ISWA Beacon conferences have been orga-nized. All of them turned out to be very successful and well attended events (see chapter 4.1).
In addition to that the Board supports and supervises the activities and projects of the ISWA General Secretariat.
Members of the Board in 2009/2010 Atilio Savino, Argentina, President
Jeff Cooper, United Kingdom, Vice President Helmut Stadler, Austria, Treasurer
Antonis Mavropoulos, Greece, STC Chair
Erik de Baedts, The Netherlands, NM Representative David Newman, Italy, NM Representative
Jørgen Haukohl, Denmark, OM Representative Jean–Paul Leglise, France, OM Representative Doron Sapir, Israel, RDN Representative Ian Coles, Australia, RDN Representative Alberto Bianchini, Brazil, RDN Representative
The new team at the ISWA General Secretariat in Vienna, from left to right:
Gerfried Habenicht (Communications Manager), Rachael Williams (Technical Manager), Hermann Koller (Managing Director), Julia Schönherr
(Administrative and Project Assistant), Alfred Holzschuster (Finance & Member Service Manager).
The General Secretariat
The administrative tasks of ISWA are performed by the General Secretariat (GS) under the direction of a Ma-naging Director. The MaMa-naging Director serves as the chief executive officer of ISWA and is responsible for all planning, management, direction, co-ordination and support to all ISWA operations, committees, meetings, membership development, publications, and relations with other organizations.
In 2010 there was a change of personnel within the General Secretariat. Mr. Hermann Koller has been appointed as Managing Director. The Board took this change and the start of the new team as an opportu-nity for a reorganization of the General Secretariat: With a revised, well-considered, slim structure and clear responsibilities an efficient administration, best possible member support and expertise has been created. This is further supported by having all team members located at the new premises in Vienna.
Besides the daily business like Membership- and Wor-king Group support, the organization and promotion of events, and the services related to the ISWA publications (WM&R, WMW, Newsletters, Annual Report etc.), the main activities of the GS in 2010 were:
• Reorganization of the Finance Management and the Finance Administration
• Improvement of membership service • IT-Harmonization
• Relaunch of the website
• Establishment of the project Knowledge Base • Development and implementation of a Multi Annual Plan and a Communication Plan
• Increase of cooperation and networking with stakeholders.
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General Secretariat –
Opening of the new premises
On 2 July 2010 the Official Opening Ceremony of our new Headquarters in Vienna took place. 60 guests from 11 countries followed our invitation and experienced a very entertaining and atmospheric event. After a welcome drink and a viewing of the premises there were opening addresses from Ms. Ulli Sima, Councilwoman for the Environment, from our President Mr. Atilio Savino and from Mr. Rainer Kronberger, President of ISWA Austria (pictured on the left). Mr. Hermann Koller, our Managing Director, gave a presentation on ISWA projects, activities and future developments. The evening finished with an Austrian gastronomic specialities dinner buffet.Regional Development Networks
ISWA has established different Regional Development Networks (RDN) to more effectively reach regions out-side of its traditionally strong areas (i.e. Western Europe and North America). The RDNs aim is to promote sustai-nable waste management by carrying out activities and developing programs that focus on their regions special needs and challenges.
There are currently three Regional Development Net-works that have been established, each of them repre-sented by one member on the ISWA Board.
Asian and Pacific Regional Network Australia
Waste Management Association of Australia India
National Solid Waste Association of India Malaysia
Waste Management Association of Malaysia New Zealand
Waste Management Institute of New Zealand Singapore
Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore
Scientific and Technical Committee
The Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) is gover-ned by its Chair and the current Chairs of the ISWA Working Groups. The STC represents ISWA’s technical expertise and coordinates the activities of the Working Groups. Members meet 2-3 times a year, often in con-nection with the Board meetings. The Chair of the STC is also a member of the ISWA Board.
2009/2010 activities of the STC see chapter 4.2 below.
Working Groups
The purpose of the ISWA Working Groups is to serve as the principal means for ISWA to deliver its technical and scientific programs. As such, the Board and the ISWA membership look to the Working Groups for technical information and assistance, basic and applied research, professional meetings, and the development and dis-semination of information regarding solid waste management. Currently there are 9 Working Groups excluding the new Working Group dealing with Climate Change issues that has just recently been established. 2009/2010 activities of the Working Groups see chapter 4.3 below.
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Balcanien, Middle East and Mediterranean Regional Network Bosnia and Herzegovina
CENER21 Bulgaria
ECOS Medica Ltd. Greece
Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association Turkey
Turkish National Committee on Solid Wastes Israel
The Dan Region of Association of Towns - Sanitation and Waste Disposal
Romania
Romanian Association of Solid Waste Management Serbia
SeSWA - Serbian Solid Waste Association
Latin America Regional Network Argentina
Association for Solid Waste Studies Brazil
Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies
Membership
ISWA has the following different membership
categories: National Members, Organisation Members, Individual Members and Online Members.
The National Members (see chapter 7.) are non-profit, waste management associations representing the waste management sector in a particular country. Generally, these associations have memberships from both the private and public sector. Based on ISWA regulations, the National Members are the only members allowed to vote at the General Assembly and thus, they consti-tute the governing body of ISWA. Through the National Members, ISWA’s network reaches out to some 25,000 to 30,000 global professionals interested in the waste management field.
Organization Members are public or private organiza-tions and companies working in or associated with the field of waste management which, depending on the annual dues paid, enjoy a different range of member benefits (see chapter 8. and www.iswa.org).
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4. Promotion of Sustainable
Waste Management
How does ISWA achieve its mission? ISWA promotes and develops sustainable waste management through the organization of meetings and events, particularly of congresses and conferences. Another important contri-bution is the effort of its nine Working Groups and the activities of its Scientific and Technical Committee. In order to achieve further progress on sustainable devel-opment, ISWA implements task forces and projects. ISWA raises professional standards in the field of sus-tainable waste management through its International Waste Manager program. Finally, ISWA fosters good communication and publications on sustainable waste management with awards.
The following chapters provide an overview on ISWA’s various activities in the promotion of sustainable waste management emphasizing the year 2009 and the first half of 2010.
4.1. Congresses and Conferences
The biggest event ISWA organizes regularly is the ISWA World Congress. The World Congress is a 4 days event held once a year in autumn and usually attracts 600 to 700 participants from 50 to 70 different countries. At each of the last years World Congresses there were between 100 and 180 presentations by renowned inter-national experts.
Furthermore ISWA organizes several Beacon Conferen-ces a year. These ConferenConferen-ces focus on different waste management topics like Biological Treatment, Energy Recovery, Sanitary Landfill or Recycling and Waste Prevention with 70 to 500 participants attending.
Delegates World Congresses (2006 – 2009)
ISWA events and meetings in 2010
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 680 World Congress Copenhagen 2006 World Congress Amsterdam 2007 Number of Deleg ates World Congress Singapore 2008 World Congress Lisbon 2009 697 642 650 700 800
17 From 15 to 18 of November 2010 the City of Hamburg
will host this year’s ISWA World Congress on “Urban Development and Sustainability”. The event has been co-organized by the VKS, member of the VKU support association.
The last ISWA World Congress took place in Lisbon at the Cultural Centre of Belém from 12 to 15 October 2009 and was co-organized by the Portuguese Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (APESB). The theme of the Congress was „Turning Waste into Ideas“. The World Congress 2008 was held at the Suntec in Singapore. This event was co-organized by the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) and the National Environment Agency (NEA). The ISWA World Congress 2007 “Challenging the future” was held at the RAI International Exhibition & Congress Centre in Amsterdam. The event was co-organized by ISWA’s Dutch National member NVRD.
Beacon Conferences
The series of Beacon Conferences organized by ISWA has been a great success. Perfect examples were the three “Beacons” held in the first half of the year 2010. A total of over 700 delegates attended the three conferences: The ISWA Beacon Conference on Biological Treatment of Waste was held in Perugia, Italy on the 15th and 16th of April and attended by over 100 participants, mainly from Europe. This was the third edition of this Beacon Con-ference, organized by the Working Group on Biological Waste and the National Member for Italy, ATIA-ISWA ITALIA. Delegates discussed the current state and future prospectives of organic waste treatment. The principal focus of the event regarded how local authorities enact systems for organic waste collection and recovery; while a second focus looked at the current state of technolo-gies available for the treatment of these fractions. Of
particular interest was the debate surrounding anaero-bic digestion. Finally, a window was opened on the mar-kets for composted products, certification programmes and quality controls.
The first ISWA Beacon Conference on Waste Prevention & Recycling took place in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, on the 20th and 21st of May. This Conference has been initiated by the ISWA Working Group for Recycling and Waste Minimization and is instrumental in disseminating new knowledge and developments especially in the areas of Waste Prevention, Sustainable Production and Con-sumption and Life Cycle Thinking. During the two very intense and interesting conference days 28 highly qualified speakers delivered a well balanced mix of aca-demic and practical sessions to more than 70 attendees from all over the world.
ISWA Beacon Conference in Buenos Aires
At the ISWA Beacon Conference on Sustainable Sanitary Landfills in Buenos Aires from 31st of May to 1st of June there were 523 attendees from 13 Countries. Both the re-commendations formulated and the experiences shared by the speakers will form a significant contribution to achieve a big step towards the improvement of waste management in the Latin American region.
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4.2. Scientific and Technical Committee
Chair: Antonis Mavropoulos, GreeceVice-Chair: Maarten Goorhuis, Netherlands
The Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) is governed by its Chair and the current Chairs of the ISWA Working Groups. The STC represents ISWA’s technical expertise. Members meet 2-3 times a year, often in connection with the Board meetings. The Chair of the STC is member of the ISWA Board.
Main activities of the STC in 2009/2010 were:
• Development of ISWA’s technical profile, including various workshop- and conference programs
• Support of ISWA Leadership initiatives and Multi Annual Plan
• Development of Working Groups’ programs 2011 – 2012
• Development of the ISWA Knowledge Base (see chapter 4.4.2.)
• Development of the Proposal for Procedures regarding Vienna Grants
• Contributions to the ISWA Task Force on Greenhouse Gases
• Support of the IWM certification procedure • Establishment of a Task Force on Globalization and Solid Waste Management
• Initiation of Position Papers on Waste Prevention and on Waste Trafficking
The role of the STC is to conduct and coordinate the technical work of ISWA. The actions of the STC are based on its own objectives and annual work program, as well as the work programs for the different Working Groups. The Working Groups are functioning differently and this difference is respected as far as possible. The input from the Working Groups is based on voluntary work from its members and ISWA recognizes the efforts made by its large number of Working Group members. Working Group Meetings are usually held 1 to 2 times a year.
Voluntary Time for ISWA
The progress of ISWA in promoting sustainable waste management relies on the initiatives of its members. All the members of the various bodies of ISWA invest voluntary time for meetings. The following statistics give an impression of this commitment.
In 2009 the board convened four times, the total number of voluntary person days amounted to more than 50. In 2010 the board members had already invested almost the same amount of time by the end of September.
The members of the various working groups invest about 100 voluntary person days a year. These meetings have an average duration of about 1.5 days. The voluntary time within the Scientific and Technical Committee amounted to 32 days in 2009 and to 20 days in 2010 by the end of October.
These numbers are even more impressive con-sidering the fact that they only represent the time spent in meetings. Travelling time as well as the time spent on preparing the meetings is not included in these figures.
Voluntary Time in Meetings
(without time for preparation and travelling)
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00
Voluntary Person Days
2009
Board Meetings STC Meetings Working Groups 2010 (until October 1st) 140.00 160.00 180.00 200.00 98.50 78.00 20.00 44.50 142.50 32.00 51.50 182.00
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4.3. Working Groups
The purpose of the ISWA Working Groups is to serve as the principal means for ISWA to deliver its technical and scientific programs. As such, the Board and the ISWA membership look to the Working Groups for technical information and assistance, basic and ap-plied research, professional meetings, and the develop-ment and dissemination of information about solid waste management.
Currently there are 10 Working Groups with a total of around 250 members coming from more then 30 different nations:
Working Group on Communication
Chair: Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden
The Working Group on Communication serves as the principal resource to ISWA in the field of communication and social relations. The Working Group addresses public concerns, comprising public support and public opposition to waste management policies, public consultation and participation, and communication and social issues with focus on basic human attitudes towards waste.
The Working Group‘s main objectives are: • to cover communication and social aspects within the framework of waste management.
• to acknowledge and communicate the growing importance of public acceptance for a successful implementation and proper conduct of waste management policies, such as collection systems, siting of facilities, disposal fees, regulations and other related aspects.
• to foster the good reputation of professional waste management among the public by developing, co-ordinating, and disseminating strategies and tools aimed at increasing public support of and reducing public opposition to waste management strategies.
• to strengthen the role of communication as a determining factor for achieving satisfactory solutions in waste management practices. Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were:
• The ISWA Communication Award • Standardisation of colours and symbols • Sustainability reporting
• Databank on Communication Campaigns • GHG Task Force – Communication related
Working Group on Energy Recovery
Chair: Håkan Rylander, Sweden
The Working Group on Energy Recovery addresses the thermal treatment of waste, the production of energy, control of emissions from waste-to-energy, and the management of residues resulting from waste-to-energy. The Working Group’s main objectives are:
• to promote the adoption of cost-effective, environmentally sound systems, methods and practices for thermal treatment of municipal waste, thereby especially addressing the waste-to energy concept
• to develop, co-ordinate and disseminate timely information on institutional, technological, economic, environmental and research developments in the field of thermal treatment of municipal waste Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were:
• Waste-to-Energy in relation to climate change and input to the ISWA Task Force on Climate Change
• Revision of the EU IPPC-directive and the proposed merge with the Waste Incineration Directive
• Discussion of the proposal for an EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources including waste
• Presentation of Waste-to-Energy in the various member countries and discussion of the new concept of developing waste power plants
• Encouraging and supporting, at international and national levels, mechanisms for effective tion to the public policy debate on the role of thermal treatment as an essential part of ed waste management
Working Group Healthcare Waste
Chair: William K. Townend, United Kingdom
Healthcare includes for both humans and animals the medical activities for the diagnosis, monitoring, treat-ment, prevention of disease or alleviation of handicap including the related research. Healthcare Waste is the solid or liquid waste arising from Healthcare and in-cludes personal hygiene waste products. Healthcare Risk Waste includes Biological Waste, Infectious Waste, Sharps, Chemical, Toxic or Pharmaceutical Waste in-cluding Cytotoxins and Radioactive Wastes.
The Working Group‘s main objectives are to promote the integrated provision of the infrastructure for the safe management of Healthcare Waste world-wide, within the framework of the objectives, activities and
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and guidelines
• Landfill gas collection and energy recovery • Greenhouse gases and treatment of methane emissions from landfills.
Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were: • Landfill Operations Guidelines translation into Portuguese and Mandarin
• Update on International Guidelines for Sustainable Landfill Evaluation
• State of the nation report on Landfilling • ISWA Beacon Conference on Landfill, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Partnership with M2M (Methane to Markets)
Working Group on Legal Issues
Chair: Martin Hassfurther, Austria
The purpose of the Working Group on Legal Issues is to serve as the principal resource to ISWA on legal issues. The overall interests for the Working Group are the ex-change of legal aspects on different hot topics in waste management. Currently there is much focus on waste trafficking, EU-waste legislation, environmental respon-sibility and the legal aspects of different kinds of public-private cooperation.
Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were: • Share and transfer legal information to all ISWA members based on knowledge, experience and research of Working Group members
• Coordinate legal aspects of the activities in the different ISWA Working Groups
• To take initiatives to develop and increase the activities of ISWA internationally in making appropriate legal representation
means of implementation established by Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development.
Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were: • Developing a comprehensive definition of care, Healthcare Waste and Healthcare Risk Waste and promote its recognition by all national and relevant International Organizations.
• Producing by way of meetings, conferences, nars, workshops, publications and competence based education, training and assessment the means by which the best professional practices of Healthcare Waste Management can be promulgated world-wide to match economic circumstances and stages of social development.
• Co-operation with the World Health Organization: The Working Group has been engaged for the last two years in producing the new version of the WHO publication “The safe management of wastes from healthcare activities” (Blue Book). The book was published in 1999 and is now in its final stages of review prior to being published later this year.
• Next major task will be organizing the promotion of the WHO Blue Book when it is published and organizing a Beacon Conference to promulgate it widely.
Working Group on Landfill
Chair: Derek Greedy, United Kingdom
The Working Group on Landfill addresses the planning, siting, design, construction, operation, closure, and end-use of landfills. The Working Group’s overall interests are in the proper closure of open dumps worldwide and the move towards the construction and operation of modern, engineered landfills. These interests have led to providing technical support on the design, construc-tion, regulaconstruc-tion, and management of landfills, for both industrialised and developing nations. Further aspects include operations, closure, and end-use concepts, along with standard practices for ground water monitoring and testing, leachate management, gas management, and stormwater management.
A major activity of the Working Group is to conduct training courses for solid waste managers from environmentally developing countries. In addition, the group is working on various reports, training material and key issue papers which include:
• Closure of open dumps
21 • To communicate recent legal developments to
scientists, engineers and managers working in the field of solid waste management
• Monitoring EU-waste issues in its EU-subgroup
Working Group on Recycling and Waste Minimization
Chair: Maarten Goorhuis, The Netherlands
The Working Group on Recycling and Waste Minimization addresses the reduction in the generation of solid waste, recycling of materials, separation, processing and marke-ting of materials removed from the solid waste stream. The Working Groups main objectives are:
• to share information on institutional, technological, economic and environmental matters concerning resource management, recycling, waste tion currently in practice.
• to encourage, conduct and share the results of research and development activities within the field of resource management, recycling and waste minimization.
Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were: • Development of ISWA policy papers on globalization of recycling
• Development of a discussion paper on resource management
• Recycling of waste deriving from public collection sites
• Discussion on the forthcoming changes to the EU Waste Framework Directive
• Organization of ISWA Beacon Conference on Waste Prevention and Recycling
• Development of a ISWA Key Issue Paper on Waste Prevention, Waste Minimization and Resource Management
• Waste prevention, reuse and innovative recycling projects in WG member countries
• Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Working Group on Hazardous Wastes
Chair: Jean Paul Léglise, France
The Working Group’s interests include the sound manage-ment of hazardous wastes from both industrial and household sources, and the remediation of hazardous waste sites resulting from unacceptable hazardous wastes management practices. In carrying out its programs, Working Group members strive to serve the interests of hazardous waste management professionals in their respective countries and world-wide.
The Working Groups main objectives are:
• to promote the cost-effective, environmentally safe management of hazardous wastes in member- and developing countries
• to develop, co-ordinate, and disseminate timely information on institutional, technological, economic, environmental, research and legal developments in the field of hazardous waste management and remediation
Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were: • Export of hazardous waste to developing countries – helping developing countries with facilities
• Hazardous waste in construction and demolition waste
• Separation of hazardous waste from other waste streams
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Working Group on Collection and Transportation Technology
Chair: Theo Lemmen, The Netherlands
The purpose of the Working Group on Collection and Transportation Technology is to serve as the principal resource to ISWA in the field of collection and transport-ation technology of solid waste. The Working Group addresses the storage, collection, transfer and transport-ation of solid waste.
The Working Groups main objectives are:
• to share information on institutional, technological, economic and environmental matters concerning collection and transportation technologies currently in practice
• to encourage, conduct and share the results of research and development activities within the field of waste collection and transportation Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were:
• Collection methods
• Fuel Economy in Waste Collection Trucks • Waste transportation between cities • Costs of waste collection services • Standardisation of containers
• Colours in waste management and recycling • National Reports on the development within waste collection
• Publishing of three Working Group reports on the ISWA Website (one on Waste Collection, one on Littering and Street Cleaning and one on Waste Transfer)
• Following the development of the CEN Standards for vehicles and waste containers
Working Group on Biological Treatment of Waste
Chair: Enzo Favoino, Italy
The Working Group addresses the biological treatment of the organic fraction of solid waste through aerobic and anaerobic decomposition processes, including related instruments (e.g. separate collection, odour management) and destiny of outputs (quality, application and market-ing of products). It also covers Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT), i.e. the application of biological treat-ment to mixed (or residual) waste in order to reduce its fermentability prior to landfilling, recover further amounts of materials before final disposal and improve conditions for energy recovery. The Working Group has also been mandated to consider issues pertaining to biological treat-ment of sludge (composting and anaerobic digestion) and its application in agriculture.
The Working Group‘s main objectives are:
• to share information on institutional, technological, economic and environmental matters concerning biological waste treatment currently in practice
• to encourage, conduct and share the results of research and development activities within the field of biological waste treatment
• to define – upon agreement with the GS and STC – positions to try influence, through provision of science-based views and information, ongoing developments in relevant legislation, with reference e.g. to waste management, soil management, climate change, and other issues pertaining to management of organic waste.
Main discussions and activities in 2009/2010 were: • Follow the development of “end-of-waste criteria” and when compost is no longer considered as a waste
• Optimisation of schemes for separate collection • Food waste disposers
• Management of sludge
• Strategies for optimised management of biodegradable waste in Developing Countries
• Climate change and biological treatment
• The role of MBT (Mechanical Biological Treatment), including possible application of MBT outputs
• Markets and marketing strategies for composted products
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Working Group on Climate Change and Waste Management
Chair: Gary Crawford, USA
In September 2010, according to a proposal of the STC, a Working Group on Climate Change and Waste Management has been established. The Vice Chair of the ISWA Task Force on Waste Management and Climate Change, Gary Crawford, has been appointed to chair this new working group.
4.4. Projects 2009/2010
4.4.1. White Paper on Waste and Climate Change Extreme weather events in different parts of the world remind us that the climate issue is still hot and that reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is an important issue in order to mitigate climate change. Reduced emissions of methane, reduced use and/or substitution of fossil fuels and increased use of renew-able energy are examples of measures to be considered globally to effect that change. Can waste management contribute to meet this challenge?
In 2007 ISWA decided to establish a Task Force to address the waste and climate change issue. This decision was preceded by suggestions from a joint ISWA Working Group meeting in Buenos Aires in 2005 and 3 provisional case based assessments presented at the ISWA 2006 Congress in Copenhagen. However, the need for a more comprehensive and systematic assessment became evident, and the Task Force was formed and asked by the ISWA Board to examine the interaction between GHG emissions and waste management and to make recom-mendations to ISWA. Reporting of the results was made at the ISWA-DAKOFA conference in Copenhagen 3 to 5 December 2009, immediately prior to the COP 15 Meet-ing in Copenhagen. Members of the Task Force were Gary Crawford (USA, Vice Chair), Christian Fischer (DK), Jens Aage Hansen (DK, Chair) and Antonis Mavropoulos (GR). Jean Bogner (USA), Simon Aumonier (UK) and Thomas H. Christensen (DK) provided particular input to the work of the Task Force.
Based on workshops in 2008 in Singapore and Copen-hagen and in 2009 in CopenCopen-hagen and Paris, an ISWA White Paper on Waste and Climate was released in November 2009. It has 8 key messages regarding how to reduce GHG emissions by targeted waste management and 5 commitments by ISWA to make the potential reduction of GHG emissions come true on a global scale. In essence, waste management can change from being a net GHG emission source (assessed by the IPPC in 2005 to be 3-5% of total global GHG emissions) to becoming a major net saver of GHG emissions resulting from actions as described in the 8 ISWA key messages stated in the ISWA White Paper.
The ISWA White Paper describes how GHG accounting is key to establishing efficient strategies to reduce GHG emissions, including emission savings both upstream, in-process and downstream of the waste management action proper. In national accounting schemes and in order to avoid double counting, credits for reduced GHG emission are normally ascribed to industries such as the paper manufacturing industry (for recycled fibers) or energy utilities (for electricity and heat recovery). The waste sector therefore may thus not obtain the carbon credits that directly and indirectly relate to waste prev-ention, recycling and other waste management activities. On a city or regional scale it may be a useful exercise to relate accounting of GHG emission reductions to significant planning sectors such as traffic, housing, waste and wastewater. Such scoped and targeted regional and local government action plans may serve as concrete tools to not only plan but also execute and monitor GHG emission reduction programs in a structured and result oriented way.
The ISWA White Paper presents a single city case to de-monstrate the significance of such action. The commit-ment by ISWA to engage in more city waste action programs would be very useful in terms of establishing city networks that share experiences and drive the development towards more effective GHG emission reductions on a global scale. Integrated and coordinated action with other international organizations would enhance the effect of such ISWA initiatives.
The ISWA White Paper on Waste and Climate Change can be downloaded for free at www.iswa.org.
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4.4.2. Knowledge base
The ISWA knowledge base is currently being developed to upgrade ISWA’s technical profile, providing ISWA members and others who stumble on the ISWA website an extensive source of Scientific Waste Management related documents in a one stop shop. These documents will include both ISWA and non ISWA material such as Conference Proceedings, Reports, Training Resources, Papers, Case Studies and Online Resources.
The knowledge base intends to cover all relevant topics of solid waste management from across the globe. It will be integrated in the new website as an extension to the publications page with more functionality offered through an extended library navigation and user friendly search area. If you have any documents you would like to share with other members please forward them to the ISWA General Secretariat.
4.4.3. TAP Centre Singapore
On 28 June 2010 ISWA has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) to establish and run a Training, Advisory & Promotion (TAP) Centre for waste management in Singapore. The MOU was signed by Chairman of WMRAS Goh Swee Ooi, President of ISWA Atilio Savino, and Chief Executive Officer of NEA Andrew Tan at the ISWA-WMRAS Technical Workshop 2010 held in Singapore.
Through this agreement ISWA, WMRAS and NEA demonstrate their commitment of promoting sustainable waste management and optimizing the value of waste as a resource in Singapore and the region. The TAP Centre will organize and promote regional waste management training workshops, forums and tradeshows, as well as provide waste management advisory services on policies and master-planning considerations.
The TAP centre aims to serve ISWA’s members, stake-holders and collaborators in the Asia/Pacific region. The office will serve as the Asian hub for supporting ISWA member activities, facilitating ISWA programs and pro-moting ISWA membership in the region, enabling ISWA to connect more effectively with the Asian waste com-munity and assist in the development of sustainable waste management in the region. The main objectives of the TAP centre are:
Advancing membership in the region
The Singapore office will promote ISWA membership with an emphasis on China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Singapore currently engages various organizations in these countries and will be able to promote ISWA membership through various platforms.
Conducting training and related technical
The Singapore Office will develop training courses and workshops for local/international participants and will draw upon ISWA international experts. In addition, with the growing market for environmental services, the ISWA office can also offer consultancy services in the region through Working Group Members and the General Secretariat.
Serving as a source of waste management information The ISWA office can serve as a source of information on waste management in Asia as well as a focal point for business matching between ISWA members in Asia and in Europe.
4.4.4. Globalization and Waste Management In September 2010 ISWA decided to establish a Task Force to handle the challenges related to Globalization and Waste Management. The project aims to promote the necessity for a Global Convention for Waste Manage-ment and to highlight the major challenges put by glob-alization process to waste management activities, like waste trafficking, global recycling and international aid.
25 The first activity of the Task Force will be the issue of
a comprehensive Report on Globalization and Waste Management. The release of the report is scheduled for mid 2012.
4.5. Publications
ISWA publishes a wide range of waste management specialist literature: Books, Key Issue Papers, Technical Policy Papers, Position Papers, Reports, an electronic Newsletter and two professional periodicals:
Waste Management and Research (WMR) is a monthly journal published under the auspices of ISWA. WMR satisfies the growing demand for scientifically based information that can be utilised by waste management professionals in academia, government, industry, engineering, management, planning, and public health. WMR publishes articles relating to both theory and practice of waste management and research that promote innovation and provide a bridge between academic studies and practical problems.
Waste Management World (WMW) is published bi-monthly by ISWA and PennWell. One issue per year incorporates the International Directory of Solid Waste Management, which lists the ISWA members, and a classified listing of waste management companies.
4.6. International Waste Manager Program
The ISWA International Waste Manager programme is designed to provide an internationally recognized certi-fication for individual professional waste managers based on both academic achievements and practical work ex-perience. The certification is awarded at four different levels: Technical, Intermediate, Advanced, and Interna-tional, depending on how applicants meet the ISWA criteria. The criteria are based on a set of key identified attributes that become more rigorous the higher the level awarded. The Technical level has been established to enable those with substantial practical experience but who lack academic qualification.The process is straightforward and very similar to the stages involved in applying for a new job. The first step
is to complete an application form. On the basis of the application form being selected, the next step is to pre-pare a detailed personal report covering education, work experience and professional approach to waste manage-ment. This is followed by an interview and committing to the ISWA’s Code of Ethics to undertake a life-long programme of Continuous Professional Development. Since the program began in 2007, forty two waste pro-fessionals from 15 different countries around the world have been certified within the ISWA International Waste Manager program.
If you are interested in becoming an International Waste Manager please view the brochure available on
www.iswa.org or contact the ISWA General Secretariat.
NUMBER OF ISWA INTERNATIONAL WASTE MANAGERS BY YEAR
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 (Sept 30) Total Technical status – – – – 1 1 Intermediate status – – – 7 5 12 Advanced status 1 1 – 4 2 8 International status 9 1 1 6 4 21 Total 10 2 1 17 12 42
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4.7. Awards
ISWA Communication Award
Each year ISWA honours an excellent Waste Communi-cation Campaign that increases public awareness and promotes sustainable waste management. The awarded campaign is recognized at the ISWA Annual Congress. The award is open for participation for both ISWA members and non-ISWA members.
2010 Communication Award Winners
The judging panel had an excellent selection of waste management communication promotions to assess in 2010. Eleven communication initiatives were put forward from 9 different countries and the judging panel found it difficult to determine an overall winner from those put forward. The first two were separated by only a very few points out of a total 90.
FIRST – Vienna’s Poop Scoop Success
Vienna in common with other communities around the World had a problem with dogs fouling public streets, parks and other areas. Several previous attempts had failed but in 2006 a mother of two toddlers secured 16,000 signatures on a petition. Thereafter the City’s waste management authorities introduced a compre-hensive and progressive information, education and enforcement effort to persuade dog owners to “pack my poop in a sack”. The sacks were provided by the city and extra doggie bins added in addition to the extra staff
employed to impose on the spot fines and other sanctions. The judges were impressed by the overall communica-tions plan and in particular:
• The communication with existing staff • The hiring of new staff
• The use of amusing but thought provoking signs placed in public parks
• Thorough assessment throughout its roll-out • Extensive evaluation of the results.
This evaluation included ana
