Just a joke?

You may know this one:

Two men are confronted by a menacing lion in the African bush.
One says: "Run as fast as you can!”
The other replies: "There's no point - the lion is faster anyway.”
Says the first: "Maybe, but I just have to...

Vulnerability

September 17th, 2024 - destroyed cities, thousands of people in emergency shelters, at least 19 dead. At least 40 people died in floods and landslides in northern India the beginning of September 2024. There have been numerous injuries and many people are missing. Roads were flooded in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Mud houses were swept away and bridges were destroyed.

Motivation 3 / 3

Textile recycling and the European Waste Framework Directive

Oliver Milman’s Report in the Guardian from 30 Jul 2024 11.00 CEST shows that “Researchers call for immediate action to reduce methane emissions and avert dangerous escalation in climate crisis”. Let's note that this newsletter on textile recycling is also linked to the climate crisis. Enough motivation to take a closer look.

Motivation 2 / 3

Zero Waste

According to the Australian Mindaroo Foundation, Australia has the highest single-use plastic waste consumption in the world at 59 kilograms per capita ([kg/c]data from Statista.com from 2019). USA follows with 53 kg/c. South Korea and Great Britain are right behind with 44 kg/c. Exactly twice as much as Germany - at 22 kg/c .

How can this be better visualized?

Motivation 1 /3

International Trade in Recyclables

John A. Higgins, an American psychologist, coined the Regulatory Focus Theory in 1997. This theory deals with two different types of focus that influence motivated behaviour: Promotion Focus and the Prevention Focus. The Regulatory focus theory helps us to understand how individual focussing influences our decisions and actions. This works also in the field of waste management. I wonder whether Higgins already had the international exchange of goods from the waste sector in mind, as the two different types of Regulatory Focus Theory can be perfectly demonstrated here.

Waste and the (Eternal) City

I recently referred to the conspicuous cleanliness in some cities in northern Italy and the culture of drinking espresso in porcelain cups in the bar and not to take them "to go” in oneway cups. I am glad, that Prof. Ing. Mario Grosso from WtERT Italy adds his view of the overall Italian situation in the following lines.

Transparency

The World Bank's "What a Waste" report from 2018 packs a punch. For the year 2030, the projected waste generation is estimated at 2.59 billion tons. By 2050, it will already be 3.4 billion tons. 36.7% will be landfilled, 33% simply thrown into the countryside, rivers, or the sea (dumps). Less than a third recycled.

Better knowledge for a better life

In our rapidly changing times, we are flooded with information, have too little time to identify what is really important and forget some of the content. For this reason, I would like to refer again today, or for the first time (I've forgotten), to an article in Science News from November 14, 2019.
The article reports on how the largest sources of methane release can now be detected by a combination of satellite and remote sensing by airplane or drone.

No advice please!

How do you feel about that? Getting advice as the years go by is the last straw. Perhaps combined with "this is how you save the world or at least your soul ... if you "avoid plastic", "don't eat meat", "consume less". In Germany, the country without a speed limit, you could add the advice “not to drive faster than 130 km/h”. I like to be spontaneous in my decisions. And free! I hate interference in my sovereignty.

COP 28 for Global Stocktake

USA for satellite tracking systems to locate methane emissions from landfills

With reference to the Global Methane Pledge, US President Joe Biden has committed the USA to reducing methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 (based on 2020). This also includes the introduction of satellite tracking systems to locate major methane emissions, a NASA technology used to detect also methane emissions from landfills.

To Mitigate GHG

Training in Sustainable waste management is important

The remaining carbon dioxide budget is the amount of CO2 (including the equivalents of nitrous oxide and methane) that humanity should still emit in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius with a probability of 50 percent.

Violence and terror

Considering today's news, it is difficult for me to focus on waste management issues in our WtERT newsletter. Precisely because I believe that everything is connected. Excessive consumption leads to immense mountains of waste. If they are thrown away into valleys or onto uninhabited land, nature and groundwater will be destroyed in the medium term.

Urban Cleanliness

Even when there are lots of tourists e.g. Trieste, Italy

Back in the office, shortly after vacation, I am confronted again with a message from the Basel Action Network (BAN):

"EU continues to flood Turkey with plastic waste.
EU exported 35 million kg/month in June 2023 to Turkey. This is equal to 219 trucks of plastic waste per day."

Why is this happening when we know that Turkey still has much to do even in terms of good waste management?

Summer Special

– The Brass is Back

It's summer here in the northern hemisphere. Combined with the heat wave in southern Europe and record temperatures in China - the global effects of climate change can no longer be ignored. The fires in Canada and Greece no longer need to be reported. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), July will probably be the hottest month so far in thousands of years.

Goal called into question

First of all, I recall the so-called Prognos study from 2022, which stated that "by successfully applying current waste legislation (projection 1), the EU would significantly improve the CO2 saving potential of 150 Mt CO2eq. And with a more ambitious performances (projection 2), the CO2 net emission avoidance would reach -283 Mt CO2eq, which would result in savings of 296 Mt CO2eq."

Discussions about Artificial Intelligence

My last contribution was discussed controversially, ranging from "nonsense - delete immediately" to "very helpful in the first phases of pulling together information".

Essentials in Waste Management by ChatGPT

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, the Research Committee of the German Bundestag discussed the technological development of computer models for speech processing as well as their possibilities and limitations.

Holistic waste management

- an essential solution to the climate issue

When the BDE Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Kreislaufwirtschaft e. V. (Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Environmental Service Industries). whose member companies represent 75 percent of the turnover generated by the private sector, invites the public to a panel discussion at the European Union in Brussels, it carries weight.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

- a symbol of the power of east and west

It is my pleasure to announce that WtERT continues to expand its network to Asia, following its goals with a new organization and management and with the great enthusiasm of all involved.

2023

A Real View on Waste Management

How do you start a new year?

Please see and feel our best wishes for Christmas day by

Watching our video

So, again in 2023 we need to think what to do with all the garbage...

After Cop 27

Be brave enough to always look at the bright side of life

The results of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop27) have been sufficiently rebuked. Always look on the bright side of life. At least there was a panel on...

Don´t Panic

It Is Fake News

With this text I would like to show - and stimulate discussion - that Fake News increasingly accompanies our everyday life and thus also complicates decision-making in dealing with municipal solid waste.

A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste

How important it is to discuss the right data and the right strategy

Today I would like to come back to the topic of data, which we already highlighted in the last newsletter. I think it is important to always sit back and look at where we have arrived in terms of how we handle our waste. We as a person, as a country and in a global perspective.

Transparency in Recycling Rates

For its member countries the European Union provides exact figures for the recycling rates of many recyclable fractions.

In almost all countries of the world, decision makers base their targets on a recycling quota. But how is this quota determined? There are probably as many ways as there are countries. To make the calculation of recycling quotas transparent within the EU and beyond its borders, we asked which standards and methods are common and which underlying analyses are to be applied.

Focus on Taxonomy

I want to focus on some special topics influencing the future of waste management.

Our international WtERT representatives discussed these topics and their correlation in recent weeks at the IFAT, at the Panamerican Conference and during the 2022 Waste-to-Energy Research And Technology (WtERT) Asia Meeting.

Let's meet at the Biennial Meeting in New York and tell the world (and America) that sustainable management of our waste is essential to counteract climate heating.

BIG Change in Communication

To communicate with high credibility we have to face all facts of handling waste-

The possibilities for counteracting climate heating with sustainable Solid Waste Management are generally underestimated.
Waste management that completely avoids landfilling organic waste, reduces greenhouse gas emissions for an entire country by up to 30% - and thus is truly sustainable.

WtERT Network Represented at IFAT 2022 with Feedback from the Fair

The Future of the World Depends on How Openly We Work Together!

Open collaboration across diverse regions, countries and continents only works with full recognition and appreciation between all participants. This diversity of ideas and solutions in waste management is represented by the WtERT Network.

WtERT Network was represented from May 30th to June 3rd at the IFAT, the World´s Leading Trade Fair for Water, Sewage, Waste and Raw Materials Management, taking place at the Trade Fair in Munich, Germany. Respectful coexistence of ideas and impulses complements each other to create a sustainable circular economy. That we are thinking about the climate and thus emphasize all approaches of energy recovery explains our name.

Relaunch in Progress - Next Step

New WtERT net is coming. Easier, faster, more responsive, and intuitive.

Please check again your profile, so that you can be found by the correct tags and country assignment.
And do not forget to be amazed by our case studies about the upcoming Circular Society, we present as Open Knowledge and Contacts

Let‘s talk about responsibility – even in times of war!

Who is respsonible and for what?

A landfill operator has the obligation to ensure that waste is safely deposited, and air and water emissions are minimized; a landfill is not responsible for the community choice to send their wastes to a landfill.

A waste to energy (WTE) plant operator is responsible for the energy and material recovery from post-recycling wastes; the community is responsible for source-separation of recyclables before the urban wastes are sent to the WTE plant.

Sustainable 2022

In combination with the obvious need to transform our society, we are hearing the word "sustainable" more and more. But what is sustainable? What is sustainable waste management?

September 2015, 193 UN member states unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in New York: This fantastic departure into a shared future established 17 sustainability goals to guide countries' decisions in the years ahead.

Sustainable circular economy needs credibility

What Credibility means

Credibility means
- Acknowledging the need to reduce our waste madness and that the demand for "Less waste!" is a top priority.
and also
- to recognize the need for waste incineration, which we urgently need as a pollutant sink for the many non-recyclable wastes everywhere.

Getting the Job Done: U.S. Actions to Reduce Methane Emissions

More than 80 countries joined an initiative of the USA and the EU in Glasgow.

By changing our eating habits and the way we deal with waste, we can do something to counter the climate crisis.

The USA is focusing on the "U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan”, "on cutting pollution here at home from the largest sources of methane emissions in the United States.” The Action Plan includes a number of critical and commonsense steps to tackle methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, which currently represents the largest source of industrial emissions of methane:

The "Moment of Truth" to Ensure the Survival of Mankind

Ahead of this weekend's climate conference in Glasgow, EU countries are divided over their energy and environmental policies.

Now comes the "Moment of Truth", said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, "It is a matter of the survival of mankind" and that it is our ambition to reduce emissions before the end of this decade.1)

The year of 2021 is an environmentally active year for Turkey.

"Zero Waste" needs an Holistic Aproach

Within the scope of the Zero Waste project, which was initiated by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in 2017, institutions have been integrated in the determined application method. With this, it is planned to establish integrated solid waste disposal facilities throughout the country by the end of 2023 and to dispose of 100% of the municipal wastes there. In parallel with this project, the construction of Turkey's largest waste-to-energy power plant continues in Istanbul. This power plant, which will have an installation capacity of 77 MW, will annually dispose of 1 million tons of waste, which corresponds to 15% of Istanbul’s solid waste.

The MatER & Final Sinks Meeting 2021.

Once again, recycling and energy recovery must go together for sustainability

The fifth edition of the MatER meeting that took place on 7-9 June has confirmed once more the inexorable need of both recycling and energy recovery on the road toward sustainability.

The 2021 edition has been peculiar not only because it was held online, but especially because the MatER event was merged with the 6th Conference on Final Sinks, an alliance that has expanded the breadth of the meeting and enhanced the quality of the presentations and the ensuing debates.

Environmental Technology, a Global Megatrend

How Green.tech fosters economy

"...What German green-tech companies are achieving is not only good for the environment, but also makes our economy stronger and more resilient to crises. That is why clear and reliable overall conditions for environmental protection are at the same time also a far-sighted economic policy..." Svenja Schulze, German Environment Minister at the presentation of the "Green-Tech Atlas 2021". In view of 392 billion euros in sales by environmental technology companies with a population of 83 million, German environmental technology is considered a pioneering example of ecological transformation of the economy and society. The German waste disposal and recycling industry alone generates (figures from 2009) annual sales of approx. 40 billion euros with around 250,000 employees. In viewing these figures - why are many countries so intolerably hesitant when it comes to protecting a healthy environment?

Deposit on Fishing Nets

The Ocean is waiting for stricter regulations

Thanks to the EU, as of January 01, 2021 stricter regulations apply to plastic waste exports from the EU. Unsorted or contaminated plastic mixtures may no longer be traded internationally. The reason for this is that this waste is difficult to recycle and thus often ends up illegally in the environment. Therefore, only clean and well-sorted plastic waste may be traded.

How to work together

For example in Brazil

With last year´s new sanitation law, Brazil is well on its way to overcoming landfilling. What a fantastic concept! Have a look at the statement of WtERT Brazil`s president Yuri Schmitke to read how relevant this is for the development of waste-to-energy plants in major cities in Brazil. For the people, the municipalities, and all small and big waste management businesses the future task for the collaboration with WtERT Brazil and the global WtERT Network is to overcome landfilling.

Friends of WtERT – Welcome to 2021

USA - Welcome back in the Paris Agreement

After this past year of fear and uncertainty, I welcome you back to WtERT`s monthly newsletter. I hope that you, your families, friends and colleagues are all healthy and well.
2021 will be the year of change and transformation.

Season´s Greetings

Dear members and friends of the Global WtERT Council (GWC),

This year has been one of terrible loss and suffering but it can also be a harbinger of things that humanity can do to improve health quality, in general, and quality of life for the less fortunate of us, in particular.

Waste Reduction and Final Disposal

During the EWWR, the European Week for Waste Reduction, which took place this November, a multitude of inspiring ideas and over 10,600 actions to Reuse, Reduce and Recycle were presented.

This year´s topic has been invisible waste. A lot of interesting material can be downloaded and everyone is asked to use and spread it to enhance the effects!

Still, the great problem of final disposal of solid waste remains. This problem and possible solutions are being addressed at the III Pan American Waste to Energy 2020 Conference in Medellin, Colombia (as well as virtual), which will start tomorrow (December 2, 2020) at 7:30 a.m. Colombian time.

Vision [vɪ.ʒ(ə)n]

About Meanings and Action

In dictionaries, the term vision has various meanings. On the one hand, it can refer to a religious experience or a hallucination, on the other hand, it defines the ability to imagine how something could develop and forms a trend-setting, renewing image of the future.

If „Zero Waste" is your vision and you want to make it your objective, it is particularly important to clearly define the possibilities and limits.

Broken glass everywhere

About Rap and Rubbish

"It’s like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under.”
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

“Tell the truth, fight for trust.”

Still in the grip of the pandemic

While the small European state of Slovenia has already declared the end of the Corona crisis, other countries are still deeply uncertain. Some people are breathing a sigh of relief, but - according to the perceived view of international reports - normality is not yet in sight for most people. A subtle fear lies above everything. How good it is that a German daily newspaper (SZ, Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 13th, 2020) draws its readers' attention to the experience of dealing with the Spanish flu of 1918/19:

In view of the global crisis

Sometimes we have to pause and share the untold suffering

In view of the global crisis please let us pause for a moment together and share the untold suffering of those affected by the pandemic around the world. I would like to express my sincere appreciation for every united action of the people in the countries and institutions in Europe and the world.

Thermal waste utilization is - at least in Germany - recognized as a system-relevant facility, since this is the only way contaminated waste can effectively be disposed of. Good for the countries that have such facilities for thermal waste utilisation.

Due to Covid 19

Take care!

It seems that nearly everywhere in the world public life is slowing down while health organization are running on high-speed or are preparing to do so. Trade routes have been blocked and many businesspeople are pondering on how to keep their companies running.

COP25 in Madrid

To take the next crucial steps

From December 2 to 13, about 26,700 people from 197 countries and 1,232 observer organizations meet at the COP25 in Madrid to take the next crucial steps in the UN climate change process. A key objective is to complete several matters with respect to the full operationalization of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Besides the global community´s so far failure to slow down the climate change process it is discussed "What are we doing?” and "What we need to do?”.

Waste Management´s Response to Climate Change

We need a Big Change in Communication

Countries who want to manage MSW are talking about 3Rs; reduce, reuse, recycle. 3R solutions are needed, but to achieve the targets for mitigating climate change the European Union´s aim with 3Rs is not sufficient. In WtERT’s strong belief 3R is not the aim – it’s one of the various tools.

The World is Awakening

Substantial changes have taken place.

The world is awakening: The CO2 levels haven’t been reduced significantly – since our last circular mail – and too much plastic residues are still finding their way into the oceans.