Ricardo launches webinars exploring waste management options
In a series of free webinars, Ricardo Energy and Environment and Recycling & Waste World are exploring various ways in which to deal with waste, including transformation to a more resource efficient circular economy in the face of a growing waste disposal crisis.
The current mode of global production sees large amounts of waste produced, without any negative impact on the final product factoring in waste or lack of resource efficiency. According to previous studies, this is unsustainable in the long-term and damaging in the short- and mid-term. In a bit to transform the global economy towards more sustainable uses of resources, models, such as the circular economy, have been proposed.
As things stand a number of waste products are doing considerable environmental and social damage. Last year around 8 million tonnes of plastic leached into the oceans – while the mounting threat of extreme climate change and its mitigation continues to threaten and cost the poorest countries, with the richest dragging its feet. While collection at the source, particularly in China and the Philippines would begin to eliminate the plastic into ocean issue, a longer-term solution would need to leverage circular economic mechanisms for plastic and waste emissions – among wider effects on the value chain.
In a bid to support cities and communities deal with the waste currently being produced by the economic model, Ricardo Energy & Environment have teamed up with Recycling & Waste World, to deliver a series of free webinars. The webinars are aimed at both a UK and international audience, and cover a variety of key issues faced by the industry, from residual waste collection to real world circular economy solutions. Three webinars remain in the series of four.
The next presentation, held on the 14th of June, will be presented by Ricardo Energy and Environment Director for Wales, Brian Mayne, and focuses on the frequency of pickups and the effect on various stakeholders. The next webinar meanwhile will be held on the 20th of September, and will cover the continued increase in urbanisation, and the wider implications of the demographic shift on city waste infrastructure. The session will be delivered by Sarahjane Widdowson the lead waste strategy consultant at Ricardo and Dave Lerpiniere an independent consultant.
The final event will be broadcast on the 7th of November, and provides insight into the opportunities that arise from transformation to a circular economic model. The session is led by Jamie Pitcairn, the firm’s lead Circular Economy practitioner, and explores ways in which a circular economy creates a range of benefits for a host of stakeholders.
