ISWA comments

Greg Vogt, ISWA Managing Director, reflects on 40 years of good work by the International Solid Waste Association

People were smart back in 1970. Back when an ounce of gold was below $35 and the planet's population was reported as 3.65 billion, two groups conjectured on a merger of sorts and created the beginnings of the International Solid Waste Association as we know it today. We can recognize this 40 year anniversary because the leaders within the International Research Group on Refuse Disposal (IRGRD, established in 1950) and the International Association for Public Cleansing (INTAPUC, established in 1928) decided during a meeting in Essen, Germany to establish the International Solid Waste and Public Cleaning Association (ISWA). Founding members in 1970 were Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Czech Republic, Italy, and the United Kingdom. ISWA's first president was R. Koyentinsky of Austria, from 1970 to 1976. Later in 1970 Sweden also joined as a National Member. Notably, the first assembly of ISWA members was Summer 1972 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

ISWA has come a long way since then and remained the major waste sector organization globally. How glad we are for the foresight of those founders. ISWA will celebrate its 40 year anniversary with gusto later this year in conjunction with its Annual World Congress, 15-18 November 2010, Hamburg, Germany.

For the present, many of you are likely have seen or received the recent publication, 'From Waste to Resource: World Waste Survey 2009' (Economica Ltd., Autumn 2009), authored by Philippe Chalmin and Catherine Gaillochet. Replete with deep waste data from more than 40 countries from nine geographic regions, this reference provides a keen analysis of materials and employment in our industry, regulatory developments, and waste management's significant role in the global marketplace. One evident observation is while there is quite a disparity of progress being made from country to country, the overall sense one gets is that steady progress is at least being made in nearly all quarters. 'From Waste to Resource' also provides an organized framework for future contributions (one hopes into future editions) from missing countries and regions.

Again, how glad we are for the foresight of such publications (in this case the sponsor is Veolia Environmental Services) to allow readers to view and research the solid waste management field in a compact manner. For example, based on a citation (2006), 'From Waste to Resource' reports that the largest landfill site in the world is at Sudokwon, outside of Seoul, South Korea (Republic of Korea). As you might guess, this is one book for the living room coffee table.

Greg Vogt is managing director of ISWA and ISWA editor of Waste Management World
e-mail: gvogt@iswa.org