The following topics will be extensively discussed:
1. Waste policy and legislation
Need for appropriate legislation; international, national and regional guidelines; regulation and planning requirements; role of scientific and technical organizations; carbon tax.
2. Waste management strategies
Integrated waste management; national strategies; future perspectives, waste as a resource; public and private partnership.
3. Public concern and education
Public involvement and relationship; NGO`s activities; mediation; education; communication; training in waste management and operation.
4. Waste management assessment and decision tools
Life cycle analysis; risk assessment; environmental impact assessment; EMAS; quality control procedures; cost benefit analysis; multicriteria analysis; auditing; BAT-Best Available Technologies.
5. Waste characterization
Standardization; analytical procedures, sampling, production variations vs time and geographical areas.
6. Waste collection
Cost optimization; collection on demand; separate collection; case studies; subsurface systems; pneumatic collection; ergonomics of waste collection.
7. Waste minimisation and recycling
Waste avoidance; waste logistics and recycling; new recycling technologies; material quality after recycling; packaging material; electronic waste; construction and demolition waste; batteries; end of life vehicle; market waste.
8. Biological treatment
New developments in composting and anaerobic digestion; emissions from processing facilities; product quality; degradation and fate of emerging pollutants during biological treatment; biological treatment of special biowaste; challenges in using microbiology knowledge to explain biological process; assessment of indicators for evaluating product quality and humification.
9. Thermal treatment
Technologies and experiences; new technologies; production and use of RDF; emission control; treatment of residues; beneficial use of combustion ash.
10. Mechanical biological treatment prior to landfilling
Mechanical pretreatment (separation, shredding, RDF-production, etc.); technology and experience; new technology, testing and landfill acceptance; off gas treatment; emission control.
11. Sanitary landfilling
Sustainable landfill concepts for mechanically biologically pretreated municipal waste and special waste; processes and emissions; leachate and gas management; landfill design and construction; barrier design and performance; technologies for mitigation of landfill gas emission; waste mechanics; landfill operation; administrative and financial aspects; landfilling under specific conditions (tropics, islands, mountains, etc.); aftercare and reuse; waste disposal as final sinks for harmful substances; landfill remediation; case studies.
12. Integrated wastewater and solid waste management
Decentralized systems; closed substance cycles; future perspectives; cases.
13. Waste management and climate change
Minimisation of greenhouse gases from waste management activities and landfills, waste - CDM projects, minimisation of energy consumption, landfills as geological sinks for carbon and other elements.
14. Waste management in developing and low income countries
Appropriate technologies, experiences, international cooperation, financing, education.
15. Environmental forensics
Environmental liability in waste management; Legal Considerations, including strategic considerations for chemical fate in litigation and arbitration; Contaminant source identification, correlation and remediation; Historical reconstruction of contaminant release into the environment; Contaminant Fingerprinting for source identification and/or age-dating: analytical techniques, methodologies, legal aspects; Integrated Case Studies, employing environmental fate and damage assessments.
16. Waste Architecture
Functional requalification of old and new landfill sites; landfill mining for land reuse and remediation of degraded land; integration of pneumatic waste collection system in the urban space; design of facilities for separate collection systems; locations for waste disposal and relationships with the city; transfer stations; waste architecture and circular economy (reuse centres, etc.); architecture of buildings for waste treatment.
17. Waste and Health
Impact of waste management practices on health; epidemiological surveys; public perception; potential health effects of different waste management technologies; communication; case studies.
18. Smart and digital solutions for waste management & circular economy
Smart waste collection; smart solutions for the management of waste in the city of the future; waste recycling and social change; waste energy recovery in small and big cities; food waste reduction; e-waste management; new business model; smart Waste Management and future European Partnership; smart technologies for the improvement of reuse and recycling; potentiality of the AR-Augmented Reality in the field of Waste Management; AI (Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning), IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data, cloud and edge computing, specific software for product design, manufacturing (including supply chains for procurement), logistics, sales e-trading, business analytics and any other circular economy steps, etc.
19. Construction & demolition waste from disaster waste (Natural events, wars, etc.)
Characterisation; Management and environmental impact; etc.
20. New issues on geosynthetics in environmental application
Potential release of microplastics; Use of recycled plastics in manufacturing new geosynthetics; etc.
22. Control of emerging contaminants (EC) and nanoparticles in waste management
Minimisation of chemical in products (paper, plastics, etc.); EC in waste and sludges; Fate of EC in waste processing and disposal (composting, recycling, incineration, landfilling, etc.); Diffusion of EC from recycled products; Effects of EC on environment and health; etc.
21. Control of micro- & nanoplastics (MNP) in waste management
Disintegration and biodegradation behaviour of different kind of plastics; MNP in waste and sludges; Fate of MNP in waste processing and disposal (composting, recycling, incineration, landfilling, etc.); Diffusion of MNP from recycled products; Effects of MNP on environment and health; etc.
23. Circular Economy
Concepts, strategies, policies; Ecodesign of products; Energy and economic aspects; Sustainable final sinks; Materials, CO2 and energy balance; Role of the different waste management technologies; Life Cycle thinking and risks assessment; etc.
24. Biodiversity and waste management
Negative and positive potential impacts of waste management on biodiversity aspects
25. Waste art
Different kind of art techniques by using materials from waste; Social involvement; Visualisation of waste problems
26. Others
BAT - Best Available Technologies; IPPC regulations; fate of nanomaterials during waste management; Waste Management in emergencies; Plastic, bioplastics and new materials from waste; Natural based solutions in waste management; Sustainable landfilling for closing the material loop; Landfill mining