By Christoph Scharff

At the dawn of the new millennium, waste management left the image of the dustman long behind. Companies call for best practice, quality management and clear regulation. Research is focused on sustainability.

Waste management and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) are evermore understanding of our field’s position, function, and responsibility for the reduction of waste’s environmental impact and are well aware of the four cornerstones of environmental protection: soil, groundwater, air, and climate.

Today our field of work is an integral part of the economic and the eco system, based on the division of labor.

The scope now goes well beyond the familiar functions of waste collection, transport, recovery, recycling, treatment, and final disposal. Production, trade, and consumers are closely connected with waste management. Authorities, science and research, media, and the public are additional new partners that need to be taken into consideration: No separate collection without public participation. No waste treatment facilities without public participation. No waste treatment facilities without public acceptance.

Traditionally waste management has been tracking the flux of materials. Our benchmarking clearly reflects this mindset: Tons, ppm, lb./capita. Dry content, diversion rates, bioaccumulation.

But today we understand that all wastestreams are directly or indirectly accompanied by financial and informational relations. Financial resources and information join wastes as our "objects of desire" and are a prerequisite for a successful integrated waste management.

Waste management happens to be a field test for a new approach to environmental protection. We have a common goal: an environmentally sound, responsible, and sustainable management of wastes with minimum detrimental effects on human health, life, and nature. And we have a common restriction: limited financial resources. So the question remains: Where should money be invested with the biggest benefit for the environment? In more recycling? In better landfill technology? In improved incinerators? In waste minimization technologies? At the end of the day, answering this question is what management is all about.

Approaching this fundamental question in recent years, waste management has made significant contributions to environmental policy-making. It has become more objective, carefully planned, and scientifically based. In-depth technological research, increasing consideration of social aspects, cost-benefit analysis, and environmental impact assessment are just some of the newer tools.

What’s unique about ISWA is that its members represent all aspect of our field and most regions worldwide: from practitioners and industry to communities; from associations, research institutes, and academics to regulatory authorities. This partnership is indeed crucial and enables ISWA to develop balanced, state-of-the-art documents and meetings. Today the association is the global forum for waste management, with 12 technical working groups covering all relevant aspects of sustainable waste management and with special interest in developing countries’ issues. The new Working Group on Economic Analyses for Sustainable Development reflects the wider scope and keeps ISWA at the forefront of environmental research.

The role of waste management is changing significantly from the limited scope of dealing with wastes to managing a society’s metabolism. To create and sustain the delicate floating equilibrium between our byproducts and nature’s capacities is our technological challenge and our moral responsibility.

You are all kindly invited to join ISWA in this effort.

Christoph Scharff is president of the International Solid Waste Association. This editorial was taken from his opening address at the ISWA World Congress 2000 in Paris on July 3, 2000.

MSW
September/October, 2000