Efficiency in managing solid waste demands a scientific approach, implementing new technologies, as well as political will and social awareness.
These were the conclusions at the first plenary session of the World Congress of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) in Serbia on Monday.
The three-day congress put on by ISWA, an NGO that develops waste management worldwide as a contribution to sustainable development, opened Monday, bringing together more than 1,300 professionals from the waste management industry from 75 countries and regions.
Speakers talked about new technologies in waste management, the influence of climate change on waste management and recycling, the contribution of science as well as importance of communication when establishing a circular economy.
After the plenary session, Antonis Mavropoulos, an ISWA board member, told journalists there was "high interest in Balkan countries for better waste management and more sustainable way of managing our garbage."
He explained the congress this year aimed to pick up the best ideas from around the world and attempt to practically deliver changes to the Balkans.
"Efforts so far have resulted in creating a base of people familiar with waste management and that will push the process further," he said, adding that in future, the focus of the organization would be recycling and waste treatment in order to reduce waste from landfills.
"So far we've closed a lot of the dump sites and we have sanitary landfills and now we are ready for the next steps, how to improve the sanitary landfills operation and how to make them environmentally better, and how we can divert waste from the landfills by recycling and waste treatment," he said.
Another participant, Liu Jinghao, director of the Environmental Sanitation Engineering Technology Research Center of China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said, "ISWA is a very famous association in the field of solid waste, of which China is an important part."
"Our delegation aims to, on this occasion, communicate with experts from other countries in this field. We are prepared to introduce to our foreign counterparts the situation of solid waste management in China as well as our experience, so that China has a better understanding of the world and vice versa," he said.
Goran Vujic, professor of environment protection at the faculty of technical science of Novi Sad, said the congress was a major chance for Serbia and the whole region to improve their waste management.
"Here we have people from the whole world, state officials from various countries, representatives of companies and scientists. This can represent a turning point for waste management in Southeast Europe in their striving to reach EU standards in this area," he said.
The congress runs from Sept. 19 to 21 and is the first time in its 30-year history the ISWA has held the event in Southeast Europe. A total of 170 speakers are to partake in 55 sessions to unite on successful waste management solutions for the future.
