Waste and recycling expo to focus on government policy

CEOs and executive directors from the Victorian Government’s environmental departments will lead discussions at the Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo (AWRE) 2015 about the state’s environmental agenda, including existing and future programs that impact on the waste and recycling industry.

Sustainability Victoria CEO Stan Krpan will discuss several of Sustainability Victoria’s latest initiatives, including implementing the Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan. Lorna Mathieson, team lead marketing at Sustainability Victoria, will meanwhile explain the development of the Victorian Organics Resource Recovery Strategy (VORRS).

Kate Gavens, the director of sustainability policy at the Department of Land, Water and Planning, will speak about the Victorian Government’s commitment to banning e-waste from landfill and the industry and employment opportunities arising from resource recovery. Lisa Coffa, waste minimisation coordinator at the City of Yarra, will examine food waste avoidance programs in the debate on the best way to manage food waste.

The program will also feature Timothy Croll, the director of solid waste for Seattle Public Utilities, who will deliver a live address focusing on how Seattle introduced laws making it illegal to throw food waste in the bin, the teething issues associated with this and the results to date. Croll will offer the Australian waste and recycling industry strategies that can be adopted locally to achieve similar outcomes.

According to AWRE Event Manager Alexandra Haughton, government policy is “hugely influential on how the waste and recycling industry operates at a local level”. It is thus a major focus for AWRE, she said, with the event’s seminars “designed to be the only chance for the industry to interact directly with and ask questions of those involved in some of the most recent significant policy changes”.

Individuals can register to attend the free event and purchase tickets to attend seminar sessions by visiting http://www.awre.com.au/.