The 9th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology was held in Beijing Jingyi Hotel on October 29-31, 2014. With the topic of "Waste Management for Closed Cycle", the conference was organized by the Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Environmental Safety of Tsinghua University, the Center for Solid Waste and Chemicals Management of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Stockholm Convention Regional Centre for Capacity-building and the Transfer of Technology in Asia and the Pacific, the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, the Society of Solid Waste of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, Institute of Solid Waste Pollution Control Technology of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, China Association of Environmental Protection Industry Solid Waste Treatment and Utilization Division, International Waste Working Group.
The three-day conference was attended by more than 500 representatives from research institutions, businesses, and government departments across 32 countries and regions, who participated in both the plenary sessions and breakout sessions. The conference featured 38 presentations in the main session and 45 presentations in the sessions. In conjunction with this international conference, seven special seminars were also held, including the "E-Waste Policy Seminar," the "China Fluorescent Lamp Collection and Treatment Demonstration Project Seminar," the "Hazardous Waste Management Seminar," the "Opportunities and Challenges in Contaminated Site Management and Remediation Seminar," the "Solid Waste Disposal Technology and Industry Development Seminar," the "2014 Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Technology Transfer and Technical Exchange," and the "Asia-Pacific Basel Forum." A total of 43 presentations were delivered across these seven seminars.
The conference received a total of 138 papers,, covering various aspects of solid waste management, treatment and disposal,including hazardous waste, electronic waste, biomass, industrial waste, and contaminated sites. A total of 18 outstanding papers were selected.
Compared with previous international conferences, the 9th conference had several distinguishing features. Compared to previous international conferences, the 9th edition had several notable features. First, international organizations and government bodies from the Asia-Pacific region were invited to support the conference, including the Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), the Ministry of Environment and Green Development of Mongolia, and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment of Nepal. Second, the international influence of the conference further expanded, with the International Waste Working Group serving as one of the co-organizers. Third, the number of corporate representatives increased. These characteristics also reflect the direction in which this international conference is heading: enhancing international influence and promoting collaboration between industry, academia, and research.
It is worth mentioning that Ms. Kerstin Stendahl, Deputy Executive Secretary of the secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, participated in the meeting and gave a speech at the opening ceremony, which reflects the recognition and support of the international community, especially the secretariats of the three Conventions, for the International Conference on Waste Management and Technology. Additionally, during the ninth meeting of the Basel Convention Open-Ended Working Group held in September this year, the Chinese government introduced the international conference, which garnered significant attention and positive feedback from the attending representatives.
In addition, as the back-to-back sessions of the ninth International Conference, the first meeting of Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific Steering Committee was successfully held on the afternoon of October 28. The Steering Committee meeting included the International Conference as part of its work plan, aiming to promote it as part of the Centre's medium- and long-term regional planning.
