From July 6th to 8th 2025, the 20th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology (“ICWMT 20”) was successfully held in Beijing under the theme “Accelerating the Development of New Quality Productive Forces in Solid Waste and Promoting the Construction of 'Zero-waste City.” Jointly organized by Tsinghua University, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, ChinaAssociation of Environmental Protection Industry, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The State Key Laboratory of Iron and Steel Industry Environmental Protection, The State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainabilityn and Steel Industry, National Key Laboratory for Regional Environmental Security, co-organized by GEM Co., Ltd., and hosted by eight organizations including the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, with support from 28 institutions and journals.
Spanning three days, ICWMT 20 featured a plenary session, an English parallel session, 37 sessions, technical visits and an industry exhibition. Around 1,200 delegates attended in person, while online participants joined from 23 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The opening ceremony was held on the morning of July 6th, it was chaired by Professor Jinhui LI, a tenured professor of the School of Environment, Tsinghua University, and Executive Director of the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific. Gao LI, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; Jiming HAO, Chair of the Conference Scientific Committee, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor of Tsinghua University, and Dean of the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering; Beidou XI, President of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences; Chengzhan GUO, President of the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry; and Zuyi XIA, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.
ICWMT 20 invited 45 distinguished experts, officials and industry leaders from China and abroad to address the plenary session, including Suping PENG, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing); Seeram Ramakrishna, Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Academician of the Singapore Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Professor of the National University of Singapore, attended the conference; Guibin JIANG, researcher of the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology; Li’ an HOU, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and member of the National Expert Committee on Eco-Environmental Protection; Xuefeng WEN, Deputy Director of the Department of Solid Waste and Chemicals of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; Bin YANG, leader of the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Technology Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; Takehiro Nakamura, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Environmental Technology Centre, all of whom delivered keynote reports.
Keynote Speakers and Chairs of the Plenary Session
On July 7th, the conference convened an English parallel session that gathered leading international experts for in-depth presentations. Speakers included Prof. Oladele Ogunseitan of the University of California, Irvine; Prof. Saleem H. Ali of the University of Delaware; Prof. Minoru Fujii of Japan’ s National Institute for Environmental Studies; and Prof. Sadhan Kumar Ghosh of the International Waste Management Association. Additional insights on global zero-waste city initiatives were shared by Carlos Silva Filho, Member of the UN Secretary-General’ s Advisory Board on Zero Waste and President of the Latin America & Caribbean Center of Excellence on Circular Economy and Climate Change; Christopher Di Gennaro, Senior Programme Officer of the CityNet Secretariat; Dr. Atiq Zaman, Associate Professor at Curtin University and Founding Co-Director of the Global South Network; Shalini Bhalla, Founder & Executive Director of the International Circular Economy Council; Aung Myint Maw, Director of the Urban Environmental Protection and Cleansing Department, Yangon City Development Committee, Myanmar; Norhayati Mat Said, Senior Deputy Director of the Health and Environment Department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Malaysia; Norkamawati Kamal, Director, Licence and Municipal Services Department, Kuantan City Council, Pahang, Malaysia.
In parallel, the conference convened 37 sessions on topics including “Zero-waste city” Construction, carbon neutrality, bulk solid waste, biomass waste, hazardous waste, organic solid waste, municipal solid waste, recyclable resources, new-energy solid waste and emerging pollutants, with more than 400 scholars, officials, industry representatives and students presenting specialized reports.
Snapshots from the sessions
The conference also emphasized tangible outputs, collecting 70 papers, 230 abstracts, and 18 posters aligned with its themes; these were compiled into formal proceedings and an abstract volume, and the posters were displayed on site. All submitted papers underwent rigorous review by the Scientific Committee, which selected 13 excellent papers. A dedicated corporate exhibition ran concurrently, where ten enterprises and institutions—including GEM Co., Ltd. and CRFC—showcased innovative products made from recycled solid waste and advanced treatment technologies, directly supporting zero-waste city initiatives and China’ s dual-carbon strategy.
The Conference formally concluded at noon on July 8th. In tis closing ceremony, Conference Chair Prof. Jinhui LI observed that the solid-waste field is currently over-focused on “high-value utilization.” Existing national standards still contain gaps in water- and air-pollution control, making it difficult to safeguard environmental quality and human health. He urged that any technology development and market deployment be preceded by comprehensive environmental and health impact assessments, steering innovation toward truly sustainable and environmentally benign pathways. He also noted that the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISPCWP), established by UNEP on 20 June 2025, demonstrates unprecedented global attention, and called on experts from all sectors to contribute actively, forge a shared vision of “new-quality productive forces,” and collectively advance integrated chemicals and waste management.
In the afternoon, two technical visits were organized. Delegates visited the Chaoyang Circular Economy Industrial Park (clean incineration center, sanitary landfill, and food-waste treatment plant) and Huaxin Green Source Environmental Co., Ltd. (end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment processing), bridging theory and practice and reinforcing a closed research–industry–application loop.
ICWMT 20 brought nearly 500 experts—researchers, officials and business leaders—from China and abroad together, all working in solid-waste management and related fields. Their keynote reports gave a strong boost to China’ s zero-waste city drive, helped link science with industry and government, and offered a clear way to share China’ s experience. From planning and announcements to on-site management and publicity, every step followed “zero-waste” and “zero-carbon” principles.
