Free seminars on household and business waste

Practical issues relating to commercial and municipal waste will be explored in a free seminar programme at the Recycling and Waste Management exhibition (RWM07).

Running within the well-respected industry exhibition, which takes place at the Birmingham NEC from 11-13 September 2007, the free RWM 07 seminars provide a unique opportunity to hear professionals from all sides of the industry discuss the latest strategies, legislation, market developments and solutions.

Delegates from public and private sectors alike will profit from a carefully structured seminar programme covering commercial waste (Day 1), local authority issues (Day 2) and recycling and recovery (Day 3).

Sessions open on Tuesday (11 September) with a timely presentation from Dr Susan Juned, local government liaison for the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme on how the Waste Strategy affects businesses and ways in which organisations will need to respond to new legislative instruments.

This will be followed by sessions on incorporating recycling plans into the CSR agenda, aimed at Small and Medium Enterprise owners wishing to introduce recycling and waste management initiatives, and a talk examining the drivers and challenges faced by businesses implementing recycling programmes from Taylor's sales and marketing director, David Gillet.

With the Waste Strategy saying that there will need to be more recycling in public areas and at events, the final session on Tuesday will look at how the Glastonbury Festival and other festivals manage to get 50% recycling rates despite variable weather conditions and a public whose first aim is to enjoy themselves.

The programme for Day Two is focused on the needs of local authorities in the face of challenging and sometimes costly new government targets.

Stephen Bates, managing director at EnviroComms will run a session on identifying and engaging with internal stakeholders to gain allies in getting the recycling message across.

Dr Adam Read, of Hyder Consulting will be offering essential advice to local authorities considering setting up a food waste collection scheme and will give feedback on participation rates, tonnages and public attitudes from a number of different pilot schemes currently in operation.

Golder Associates will lead the early afternoon session, concentrating on the lifecycle assessments necessary to help councils develop environmentally sound waste strategies.

Thursday morning is devoted to the Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment Directive, beginning with an update on the implementation process in the UK and followed by a case study focusing on the process at Sims Recycling Solutions' WEEE facility in the Netherlands.

The afternoon offers a varied programme covering planning regulations and investment in infrastructure to meet demand for improved collection, recycling and recovery, followed by an exploration of the ways in which packaging could be removed from the waste stream in line with the Waste Strategy, hosted by Valpak.

In addition, visitors to the show can also attend any of the 14 free Talking Climate Change seminars and panel debates, where they can find out more about the implications of the Climate Change Bill (following the consultation earlier this year), and gather practical advice on reducing their carbon footprint from a range of experts in the field, including Envirowise and the Carbon Trust.

Full details of the free RWM 07 seminar programmes, and how to register, can be found on the website.

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