The 8th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology was held in Shanghai from October 23 to 25, 2013. More than 500 representatives from research institute, enterprises and government departments across 28 countries and regions attended the conference. Based on the principle of "maximizing waste recycling and utilization, protecting the environment and promoting ecological civilization", and with the theme of "Towards ecological Civilization", it is organized by the Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Environmental Safety of Tsinghua University, the Solid Waste and Chemical Management Technology Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Management Committee of Shanghai Jinqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shanghai Jinqiao (Group) Co., LTD., the National Strategic Alliance for Technological Innovation of Renewable Resources Industry, and the Solid Waste Pollution Control Technology of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, Stockholm Convention Regional Centre for Capacity-Building and Technology in Asia and the Pacific. It was co-hosted by Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, the Society of Solid Waste of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, Shanghai Xinjinqiao Environmental Protection Co., LTD., State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for the Recycle Informatization and Treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
Jinhui Li, Executive Director of the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, presided over the opening ceremony of the conference and delivered a speech on behalf of Academician Jiming Hao of Tsinghua University. During the opening ceremony, speeches were also given by Mr. Bin Zhong, Director of the Solid Division of the Pollution Prevention Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection; Mr. Qizhou Wu, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau; Mr. Nelson Sabogal, Senior Project Officer of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention Secretariates; and Mr. Jianzhong Pan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Jinqiao (Group) Co., LTD. Jiang Ling, Director of the Solid Waste and Chemical Management Technology Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Bin Zhong, Director of the Solid Division of the Pollution Prevention Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Academician Tieyong Zuo of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Academician Duan Ning of the Chinese Academy of Engineering respectively made keynote speeches on solid waste management policies and strategies at the conference. Mr. Eisa Mohamed Nageeb Abdalla, Representative and Regional Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in South Africa, Professor Paul H. Brunner, Vienna University of Technology, Mr. Fernando Lugris, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the Mercury Instrument and Mr.Wenchao Zang, Director of the Chemical and Environmental Management Division of the Pollution Prevention and Control Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, along with 44 well-known experts and scholars from both domestic and international institution presented insightful reports on topics such as international dynamics in chemical and waste management, lifecycle management of solid waste, resource recovery and disposal utilization, biomass and municipal waste resource utilization, policies and technologies for e-waste management, as well as the management and disposal of hazardous waste, industrial waste, construction waste, and mercury-containing waste.
As part of this international conference, six special seminars were held, including: "Construction, Approval, and Operation of Hazardous Waste Disposal Facilities," "Comprehensive Utilization Technology of Electronic Waste," "Revision of the 'Technical Policy for Pollution Prevention and Control of Waste Household Appliances and Electronic Products,'" "Technical Manual on the Review of Types and Quantities of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Processing," "Promoting Technology Transfer and Technical Exchange in the Asia-Pacific Region," and "Asia-Pacific region Basel Forum". In addition, the conference also organized site visits to three enterprises for waste plastic recycling, hazardous waste incineration and disposal, and electronic waste dismantling.
The conference concluded on 25 October. During the closing ceremony, speeches were delivered by Mr. Huatian Zhang, Deputy Director of the Environmental Technical Guidance Office of the Department of Science and Technology Standards of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Mr. Hao Quan, Honorary Director of the Society of Solid Waste of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, and Mr. Shigang Zhang, Representative Office of the United Nations Environment Program’s China office. Together with other leaders attending the closing ceremony, they presented awards to the 15 recipients of the Outstanding Paper Award.
The International Conference on Waste Management and Technology has become an important platform to elaborate scientific ideas, demonstrate advanced experience, discuss environmental issues, and find solutions. It has been successfully held for eight sessions since 2005, and is one of the important academic conferences in the field of solid waste in the world.
