The conference, hosted by the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA), is aimed towards critical thinking and will provide practical guidelines to ensure more effective solutions in South Africa and beyond.
"WasteCon2014 once again have an impressive line-up of interesting papers by experts in their respective fields," says IWMSA's president, Dr Suzan Oelofse. "You may just find a solution to that evasive waste issue, be it in a municipality or industrial environment. We are excited to welcome all the international speakers who will share their industry experience and immense knowledge on the subject. One of them is Parag Gupta, founder and CEO of Waste Capital Partners."
Gupta is a familiar name in the waste industry and this year's international keynote speaker at WasteCon2014. Gupta's expertise lies in partnering with municipalities to establish optimal waste management systems, auditing municipal waste data, market-mapping regional recyclable economies, and establishing supply and demand for compost markets.
He will share his insights on providing training and economic opportunity to low income individuals while processing waste in an unprecedented way in emerging markets. The conversation will provide a unique perspective gathered from field experience and hundreds of interviews with waste pickers and social enterprises.
Gupta will shed light on how municipalities can get involved to continually uplift their community by incorporating jobs within the waste sector. He will also share lessons learnt and best practices when it comes to overcoming social, economic and environmental barriers, and creating sustainable waste management systems.
Other platforms that delegates can look forward to are the workshops and technical tours that form part of the conference. "We are thrilled to announce the Resource Innovation Tours taking place on the last day of the conference, 10 October. Delegates who are interested can choose between two tours, the Sustainability Institute tour or the organic waste tour at Enkanini village, both located outside Stellenbosch," concludes Oelofse.
