Circular Economy & Waste Management News South Africa

Waste management issues in spotlight at Landfill 2015

The Landfill 2015 Conference and Exhibition, hosted by the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA), the Landfill and Waste Treatment Interest Group (LAWTIG) and the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA), took place on 15 and 16 September in Tulbagh in the Western Cape.
Waste management issues in spotlight at Landfill 2015
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According to IWMSA president, Prof Suzan Oelofse, Landfill 2015 was extremely well received. "We had a large number of international attendees this year, as well as speakers from Australia, Germany, France and the UK, making this a truly world-class event. The programme was also very diverse and covered every aspect of waste management."

The 110 conference delegates spent two days fully immersed in issues related to waste management techniques and developments, with many thought-provoking topics discussed. Topics included landfill construction and operations, waste transportation, climate change mitigation monitoring and evaluation, waste to energy and refuse-derived fuels, to name a few.

Case studies

Speakers included Bob Leeftink, who reviewed the Dutch and European change from landfilling to more than 80% recycling; Robert Relou, who presented a case study on the feasibility of composting food waste at a fresh produce market; Chris Liebenberg, who deliberated public/private partnership procurement and opportunities; Lloyd Wallace, talking about the role of the informal waste sector in affecting alternative waste treatment; and Andy Post, who spoke about the advantages of Geosynthetics in landfill design.

The keynote speakers at Landfill 2015 were civil engineer Warren Hornsey, and Dr Andrew Taylor, managing director of Cape Advanced Engineering (Pty) Ltd.

Hornsey discussed Australian landfill regulations and how they compare to South African regulations. He took the attendees through the successful implementation of best practice environmental management in the state of Victoria; the design, construction and general requirements, challenges and lessons taken from the project.

Bio-gas power generation

Taylor presented riveting ideas around bio-gas power generation in the South African context. He compared South Africa to the European and specifically German bio-gas contexts, discussed the 2003 Renewable Energy White Paper, as well as the he NERSA REFIT programme.

He looked at various projects, including the Durban landfill project, Johannesburg Water's bio-gas from sewerage project and the CAE Darling Energy from Bovine waste project, before discussing in-depth the Gammams Water Care Works project in Windhoek, Namibia.

"Events like these are vital to finding the solutions so desperately needed for waste management issues around the world," said Peter Kriel, chairman of LAWTIG. "We were lucky to have exceptional speakers; the conference was a great success and we are excited about what's happening in the waste management sector, both locally and abroad."

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