During the past month, I had the pleasure of traveling to Tianjin, China, to discuss EWMCE involvement in a rural waste management project. More details of this are provided elsewhere in this newsletter, but I would like to mention one particular incident. One morning of the visit was devoted to presentations by myself and Dr. Shouhai Yu from the University of Alberta on various aspects of solid waste management - including the desirability of following the hierarchy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover. Following the presentations, our hosts arranged to have lunch brought to the meeting room and ordered it from a well-known western fast-food chain (I would name it, but our legal budget is limited!). This was a nice gesture towards us visitors, but the gross over-packaging and waste intensive nature of the meal was almost embarrassing!
 
Although a lot of what our Centre does is focused on technology, it is important to remember that successful waste management has to include a significant social component - including consumer education and producer responsibility. These themes were well in evidence at the Coast Waste Management Association conference that I attended in Langford, B.C. on my way back from China. There were some striking contrasts between the two locations, but it is interesting to observe that, despite differences in scale, climate, culture, etc., the fundamental approaches to developing successful waste management systems are equally valid in either place. Edmonton provides a great example of how these can be implemented, and how our Centre continues to help share this experience with the world.

 

Regards,