From the editor
Guy Robinson
The latest creation from the makers of Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo is a waste disposal robot trapped on an abandoned earth. Disney Pixar’s WALL?E roams the planet 700 years after mankind has upped sticks and left. Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth-Class is doing what he was made to do – cleaning up what has become one giant landfill.
The movie’s writer/director, Andrew Stanton, hadn’t intended to make a broad statement about the environment or how we treat this planet. In April 2008’s Empire magazine he says, ‘The fact that Earth is empty aside from those piles of litter is really just the best setting for a robot who, after all, is designed to pick it up and process it.’ But the film is an interesting snapshot of modern culture. The subject of waste handling has been expanding beyond the realms of science and industry for some time and is now a mainstream issue. And the drive to divert waste from landfill sites is continually gaining impetus.
This issue of Waste Management World includes three articles on landfill: examining recent research on landfill redevelopment, advances in landfill liners and new technologies for directly exploiting landfill gas. These are integrated alongside a range of other articles which, in one way or another, help to promote landfill diversion – from heavy-duty shredding to the technical adaptations that are needed at waste-to-energy plants in order to handle different biowaste streams.
Importantly, the issue begins with a Comment article from South America, a continent that, to date, has seen relatively little editorial coverage within these pages. As ever, it is my intention to continue expanding the editorial reach of this magazine and thus help toward the industry’s global aim to ensure that Pixar’s comic vision does not become a serious reality.
Guy Robinson
Editor, Waste Management World
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