Around one third of municipal solid waste is made up of organic products, and when biowaste is sent to landfill it releases methane and nitrous oxide – extremely harmful gases which are major contributors to climate change. Yet when we collect and make use of biowaste it can become fuel, compost or a source of renewable energy. Finding the best ways of dealing with biowaste is one of the most important issues in waste management today, and the New Year sees Waste Management World kicking off with our biowaste special.
The EU has recently released a green paper looking at the subject which explores the opportunities for better biowaste management. The paper will be a point of reference in future discussions on the need for increased legislation in biowaste. This issue of Waste Management World looks at various topics which give a flavour of the important questions in the biowaste industry today. Karen Wilde looks at small-scale, on-site processing of biowaste on page 17 and Steve Morris gives us the low-down on the EU animal by-products regulations on page 21.
Other highlights this month include a look at innovation in other sectors of waste: there is an in-depth feature about a fantastic glass recycling technique by Stefan Michal on page 33, a study of waste mining in landfills by Eize de Vries on page 49. Plus, our resident transport and collection guru Malcom Bates goes to meet one of waste’s long-standing contributors, Sennebogen, and asks if they are Bucking the Trend on page 41.
Claudine Capel
Editor, Waste Management World
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