South-East Europe is Moving Forward to Environmental Waste Management

The environmental waste management approach is a key factor for the global resource-efficient and low carbon economy growth. South-East Europe successfully follows this global trend and changes its legislation with an aim to boost the progress of the sector. In order to get close to the European leaders however, the Region has to reinforce the application of  innovative technologies and international know-how.

45 speakers from 10 countries will participate in the 3-day Conference on Waste Management and Recycling ‘Save the Planet’ (29-31 May, IEC, Sofia, Bulgaria). They will share their experience and best practices, which can help the Region to face the current challenges and avoid future problems.

Experts from the Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+) will organise the session ‘How to prepare a good reduction plan through the 3R hierarchy of waste management’. The speakers will point the benefit of different initiatives undertaken by business, policy makers, specialists, members of NGOs and associations. Prof. Paul Connett, the author of the book ‘Zero Waste: a Revolution in Progress’ will make the conception ‘Zero Waste’ more popular in South-East Europe. The implementation of this approach renders incinerators or large landfills unnecessary and it is a better alternative for the health, the economy and the planet. Franz Neubacher (UV&P Environmental Management and Engineering, Austria) will introduce the 25 years of Austrian waste experience and will underline that its careful consideration (including mistakes) could save time and billions of euros.

How can waste be managed effectively? The reply will be given by speakers from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Hungary. The representatives of municipalities and business will get acquainted with some specific activities related to public-private partnerships, monitoring, data collection and taxation, as well as innovative recycling technologies.

Kristof De Smet from the European Network of Environmental Professionals (ENEP) will moderate a special session ‘Waste Collection and Separation’ which will overview the collection methods of household -, electronic- and package waste. The presentations will be made by experts from the Association of Environmental and Planning Engineers (Italy), Institute for Sustainable Waste Management and Technology (Austria) and EcoTechnoPôle-Wallonie. The Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Bulgarian Association of Recycling and ECOPACK will share the national achievements and problems.

Much of the material inputs used by the European industry come from secondary or recycled sources. ‘Resource Efficiency and Recycling’ is another hot topic in the agenda. Bartosz Zambrziski, European Commission, DG ‘Environment’ will review the European recycling policy instruments. Naemi Denz from the Verband Deutscher Maschinen-und Anlagenbau (VDMA) will drow the delegates’ attention to the waste-to-energy issues, while Heiko Schmidt from the German Association of Environmental Professionals (VNU) will speak about the mechanism for reducing the waste disposal cost.

Aurubis Bulgaria is a Silver Sponsor of ‘Save the Planet’. The company is a part of Aurubis Group which is the world’s largest copper recycler. Volker Pawlitzki and Vladislav Petrov will present the company’s excellence in recycling and environmental protection. The metallurgical process at Aurubis Bulgaria is constantly being optimised in order to diminish the impact on the environment, and this is a main priority of the company. At the end of 2012 the company received European co-financing of a project for recycling of waste raw materials and introducing a new product.

The third Conference day is devoted to the agriculture, landfill and wastewater biofuels. The session includes the following topics: Bulgaria’s Waste Sector Methane Action Plan, Experience of Argentina, Waste-to-Energy Projects in Portugal, the Bulgarian Biowaste/Waste Management Policy, etc.

Different parallel initiatives complement the event format - Italian Workshop on Integrated Waste Management, Go Green to Environment 2013 - G2E 2013 (pre-scheduled business and technology transfer meetings) and EU Funds for Regional Development in Bulgaria 2014 - 2020.

The  ‘Save the Planet’ Еxhibition features strong international presence - 64 % of the exhibitors are foreign companies from 14 countries which plan to launch their products or extend their network in the South-East European market. There will be an Austrian Pavilion and Hungarian National Participation. Well-known names are in the exhibitor list: Akademi Cevre, Asociaţia Română de Salubritate (ARS), AUWA, Binowa, Dekonta, Elkoplast, Ecoweb Project, EREMA, ESE, Europlast, Herbold Meckesheim, Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency, iCON Project, IFE, Infomediu, LLA Instruments, One Seven of Germany, Polytechnik, Radviliskis Machine Factory, Retire, Sartori Ambiente, Superdreckskëscht, Vecoplan, Vivani, Weiss, Zato, etc.