The Asia-Pacific Association for Sustainable Solid Waste Management was recently established by representatives from the participating countries in Asia, North America, Europe and Africa. Its aims at identifying priority areas in solid waste management in the Asian region, arranging regional or international meetings and workshops, and training young professionals in solid waste management. Professor Jonathan Wong, Professor of Biology at HKBU, was elected as the President. Experts from Europe and America will serve as international advisory members. The Association will work closely with groups such as the International Solid Waste Association and the International Waste Working Group.  

The formation of the Association was proposed during the International Conference on Solid Waste 2013 - Innovation in Technology and Management organised by HKBU’s Sino-Forest Applied Research Centre for Pearl River Delta Environment Centre held last month.  

The three-day conference brought together more than 500 participants including prominent scientists, academics and professionals from over 40 countries to share their insights on the challenges and opportunities arising from the environmental, economic and social issues pertaining to solid waste management. The opening ceremony was officiated by Mrs. Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, Mr. Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment of the HKSAR Government, and Professor Albert Chan, HKBU President and Vice-Chancellor. Mr. Wong and Mrs. Ploumen shared updates on the waste management policy and strategy of Hong Kong and the Netherlands respectively.  

Other topics that were discussed included the latest waste prevention methods, waste recycling, thermal technology, anaerobic digestion, bioenergy and composting, enabling a cross-boundary evaluation of different solutions in order to attain the optimum benefits.