The July–August issue, as ever, offers a broad-reaching overview of current issues in the world of solid waste management, coupled with a directory of 800 of the leading companies in this sector and a directory of 3847 product listings.
In this year’s issue, Dr Atilio Savino, Vice President of ISWA, opens our eyes to the world of waste management in Latin America. With high population growth and soaring levels of urbanization, the challenges for waste management companies are great. With funding coming from overseas organizations as well as local and national authorities there is a whole new set of issues to be considered for waste management companies; European and US businesses looking to expand in this area will certainly find it food for thought.
Andrew Garcia of Navigant Consulting looks at the expanding field of waste-to-energy and reveals how difficult it can be for start-up businesses in Europe to get their projects off the ground. It makes for interesting reading at a time when countries are forced to meet waste targets, and renewable sources of energy – such as waste – should be much in demand.
In many ways, the industry is now in a mature position, ready to tackle many of the complex environmental challenges we face. Exemplifying this point, WMW’s Associate Editor Claudine Capel, who will be taking the editorial helm on the magazine from September–October onwards, depicts how the shredding sector is now able to focus on more advanced engineering issues such as energy efficiency, aesthetics and making shredders mobile, having secured a firm platform on which the fundamental technology is based. And Review issue regular author Nickolas Themelis reviews the work of some of the key innovators in the energy from waste sector, demonstrating the level of technology in commercial use.
But in other ways, the industry is still in its infancy. We are only just learning about the interaction between the waste sector and our climate, including the carbon impacts of waste handling and disposal. Similarly, the nuances of life cycle assessment are also only starting to become clear, including the application of such tools in reaching a sustainable balance between waste exporting and national self-sufficiency.
An international approach to technology transfer is also an important element in the industry’s evolution. This is supported by a growing number of international conferences and exhibitions, as well as initiatives such as the Methane to Markets partnership. Covering the exploitation of landfill gas, on page 60, Xu Haiyun reviews the prospects of sanitary landfilling in China and what this country might be able to learn from experiences elsewhere.
Waste Management World is well placed, through its printed and digital media, to consider the state of the art globally, both in real terms and relative to where we would like to be. As many stakeholders consider some of the bigger decisions, such as those mentioned above, it is an exciting time to be in our industry.
Guy Robinson
Editor, Waste Management World
