PROGRAM
07:30 - 08:45
REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE BREAK
REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE BREAK (EXPO AREA)
09:00 – 09:10
Main Congress Hall
Welcome Remarks by ISWA 2023 World Congress Host
Eng. Ahmed Hamed Al-Subhi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Oman Environmental Services Holding Company – be’ah (Sultanate of Oman)
09:10 – 09:20
Main Congress Hall
Welcome Address
H.E. Dr. Mansoor bin Talib Al Hinai, Chairman, Authority for Public Services Regulation (Sultanate of Oman)
09:20 – 09:30
Main Congress Hall
Opening Highlights by ISWA
Carlos Silva Filho, President, ISWA (Brazil)
09:30 – 10:00
Main Congress Hall
Keynote Address #1
Dr. Simon Baptist, Global Chief Economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit (Singapore)
Climate and Circular Economy
The way in which the world uses physical materials has never been more important. Long-term prosperity will be impossible without achieving sustainable economies, including combating climate change, and more efficient use of physical resources. Recent years have seen high volatility, high prices and, in some cases, shortages of key materials, and how to make the most of material resources is at the center of the agenda from boardrooms to foreign ministries. Bold action in improving waste management would be a major contributor to solving these global problems.
10:00 – 10:45
Main Congress Hall
Panel Discussion #1
Global Citizenship
This session highlights the importance of individual and collective actions in addressing climate change and promoting sustainability. It underscores the role of individuals, communities, organizations and nations in actively engaging with climate-related challenges and making a positive impact on the environment.
Special Contribution from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammed Yunus, Co-founder & Chairman, Yunus Environment Hub
Moderator: Dr. Simon Baptist, Global Chief Economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit (Singapore)
– Carlos Silva Filho, President, ISWA (Brazil)
– Dr. Mohab Al Hinai, VP Sustainability & Circular Economy, be’ah (Sultanate of Oman)
– Pascal Grante, CEO, Veolia Near and Middle East (United Arab Emirates)
– Eng. Ziyad Al-Shiha, Group CEO, Saudi Investment Recycling Company – SIRC (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
– Eng. Ali Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and CEO, Tadweer (United Arab Emirates)
10:45 – 11:00
Main Congress Hall
Appreciation Ceremony
11:00 - 11:20
Main Congress Hall
Shayma Al Mughairy Show “Sand Artist” (Sultanate of Oman)
11:20 – 13:00
EXPO OPENING (Exhibition Area) & LUNCH BREAK (Atrium)
AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS
13:00 – 15:30
Theme 1: Protecting human health & the quality of the environment
Session Chairperson:
Anfal Al Hasani
Lab Technician, be’ah
Theme 2: Mitigating climate change
Session Chairperson:
Sara Al Kharusi
Learning and Development Executive, be’ah
Theme 3: Driving resource efficiency & the circular economy
Session Chairperson:
Tariq Al Khanbashi
HCW operation engineer II, be’ah
Theme 4: New technologies adoption & sector transformation towards a circular economy
Session Chairperson:
Abdulhaseeb Al Yaqoub
Senior MSW Strategies and Planning Analyst, be’ah
ORYX ROOM 
DOLPHIN ROOM 
TURTLE ROOM 
CAMEL ROOM 
13:00 – 13:20
ORYX ROOM
Evaluation of Heavy Metals Leachability Potential of Landfill-Mined-Fine-Fractions under Various Environmental Conditions
Arghya Ghosh
Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (India)
Co-author: Dr. Suresh A. Kartha
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (India)
DOLPHIN ROOM
From Barriers to Solutions: Recommendations for Scaling Up Methane Finance.
Kait Siegel
Waste Sector Manager, MPP, Clean Air Task Force (USA)
TURTLE ROOM
Collection Efficiency Analysis – a case study in Prague. 46% cost savings in waste management with use of data analytics.
Tomas Vincze
Waste Collection Management Division Director, Sensoneo (Slovakia)
CAMEL ROOM
Polymer recycling solutions for textile waste containing elastane
Emanuel Boschmeier
Scientific Researcher, TU Wien (Austria)
13:20 – 13:40
ORYX ROOM
Assessing the Efficiency of a Full-scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) Reactor in Treating Municipal Wastewater: The Developing Country Context.
Philomina Arthur
Research and Development Lead, Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited (Ghana)
DOLPHIN ROOM
CO2 reduction at Mabwepande composting plant in Tanzania
Dr. Florian Kölsch
General Manager, Dr. Kölsch Geo- und Umwelttechnik GmbH (Germany)
TURTLE ROOM
Plastic Waste – a Global Threat to the Environment and Health.
Tony Clark
CEO, Avfall Sverige (Sweden)
CAMEL ROOM
Techno-Economic Assessment for PV Waste Recycling in the Sultanate of Oman.
Dr. Sausan Al-Riyami
Director, Oman Hydrogen Center-German university of Technology (Sultanate of Oman)
13:40 – 14:00
ORYX ROOM
Remediation and Disposal of Micro-Plastics
Sumaiya Al-Siyabi
Technology Research Analyst, be’ah (Sultanate of Oman)
DOLPHIN ROOM
AD of Prosopis Juliflora: a Double Solution to Reduce Carbon Footprint and Ecological Threats.
Sophia Ghanimeh
Research Associate Professor, Qatar University (Qatar)
TURTLE ROOM
Lessons from the USAID Recycling in Jordan Activity: Incentivizing new private service delivery models for efficient recycling markets.
Mohamad Hawari
Recycling Service Specialist, USAID Recycling in Jordan Activity, Chemonics International (Jordan)
CAMEL ROOM
How can digital technologies, awareness and education be harnessed to drive sustainable solutions for the enhancement of plastic bottles collection?
Jerome Viricel
General Manager of RECAPP, Veolia Middle East (United Arab Emirates)
14:00 – 14:20
ORYX ROOM
Environmental monitoring at Ämmässuo Waste Treatment Center (a former landfill)
Linda Röman
Development Engineer, Helsinki Region Environmental Services (HSY) (Finland)
DOLPHIN ROOM
Understanding the relationship between climate change and plastic pollution: An overlooked environmental issue.
Umesh Madhavan
Research Director, The Circulate Initiative (Singapore)
TURTLE ROOM
Demonstration of feasibility of an AI based ‘Kit’ for the automation of bin inspection and monitoring activities.
Mohsin Al-Barwani
MSWS GM Planning and Service Optimization, be’ah (Sultanate of Oman)
Co-author: Ahmed Al-Aamri
GM – Digital Transformation & Cyber Security, be’ah (Sultanate of Oman)
CAMEL ROOM
Social Media and Its Role in Waste Management Business: Parameters and Strategies for Successful Campaigns by Waste Management Companies
Lorenzo Bertero
Digital Marketing Specialist, Impactos Ambientales (Germany)
14:20- 14:40
ORYX ROOM
ISWA Working Group on Landfills & Closing Dumpsites Task Force (60 mins session)
Panel Discussion: Leveraging dumpsite closure opportunities to transition to sustainable waste treatment and disposal solutions
This session is presented by ISWA WGL and IFC’s Task Force on Closing Dumpsites Global Initiative to highlight what we can do worldwide in assisting countries with dumpsite operations who want to reduce
waste mounding by bio-mining, sorted material reuse or converting to RDF product for green energy feedstock. To reduce the volume of waste going to the dumpsites, we need to divert as much organic waste and recyclable materials as possible away from the dumpsites. Bio-mining operations, recovering of RDF, and reusing plastic waste from the waste stream at dumpsites will be discussed to show how they are related and in transitioning from dumpsites to controlled or engineered sanitary landfills operations. If executed properly, and sorted materials have their destinations, bio-mining has a potential for recovering material resources, waste volume reduction, and minimizing the environmental risks from operating or remediating a dumpsite. Finally, the panelists will discuss how to finance dumpsite closure or remediation activities, along with its challenges in various parts of the world where regulations and
standard of practices vary significantly.
Moderator: Aditi Ramola, Technical Director, ISWA
James Law, Chair of the WGL & Task Force on Closing Dumpsites, VP of SCS Engineers (USA)
Rene Rosendal, Vice-Chair of WGL, and Senior Project Manager, AV Miljø and Partner at Danish Waste Solutions (Denmark)
Dr. Sahadat Hossain, Director at Solid Waste Institute for Sustainability (SWIS) & Professor, Civil Engineering at UTA, Arlington (USA)
James D. Michelsen, Sr. Industry Specialist, International Finance Corporation (IFC) (USA)
Aditya Handa, Managing Director & CEO, Abellon Cleanenergy Limited
Masood Mallick, Chief Executive Officer, Re Sustainability
DOLPHIN ROOM
ISWA Working Group on Governance and Legal Issues
Sound governance instruments for waste management and their value towards a circular economy with multi-stakeholder cooperation and inclusion
Governance is crucial to establish sound waste management systems. Likewise, instruments and tools are very important to implement governance systems. When it comes to developing sound waste management and transitioning to a circular economy, the portfolio of potential approaches is varied and there are no one-size fits-all. In this session, the working group will present several topics such as EPR implementation in developing countries, integration of the informal sector towards an integrated waste management system and the importance of sound governance and enforcement at the national and municipal level. Join us to discuss lessons learned around the world on the mentioned issues and the future perspective that emerging instruments like the one being negotiated at INC could bring.
Valeria Branca, Project Manager, EXPRA
Kartik Kapoor, Waste Management Consultant
Mpendulo Ginindza, Head: SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment and Quality) at Mintek and President of Institute of Waste Management Southern Africa (IWMSA)
TURTLE ROOM
Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life Champions – What engineering solutions can help incorporate the informal waste sector into a circular economy?
Shafiul Azam Ahmed
Partner, Commitment Consultants (Bangladesh)
Dr. Letícia Sarmento dos Muchangos
Assistant Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, University of Tokyo (Japan & Mozambique)
Delila Khaled
Founder and Principle, impaXus (Egypt)
CAMEL ROOM
Introducing DRS for PET bottles in Italy: opportunities and challenges
Mario Grosso
Associate Professor, Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
14:40 – 15:20
ORYX ROOM
ISWA Working Group on Landfills & Closing Dumpsites Task Force (Continued)
DOLPHIN ROOM
ISWA Working Group on Governance and Legal Issues (Continued)
TURTLE ROOM
ISWA Working Group on Recycling and Waste Minimisation
Robust recycling in emerging economies — tools for planning and assessment
The WGRWM is formulating a project for support to emerging economies and cities and regions. In the session we share the EU “Early Warning” methodology and approach, show how it has worked for EU member states, and invite input on how to use it in the project.
CAMEL ROOM
The Transformation Journey of Waste Management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Focusing on the transformation journey of waste in Saudi Arabia, starting from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, the creation of MWAN and the development of the National Waste Management Strategy that sets the ambitions and objectives for the Waste Sector
Abdulelah F. AlObaidi
Sector Planning, National Center for Waste Management (MWAN) (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Yazeed F. AlHabdan
Investment and Business Development, National Center for Waste Management (MWAN) (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
15:20 – 15:50
COFFEE BREAK AT THE EXPO
15:50 – 16:50
Main Congress Hall
Focus Session
Community of Action against Plastic Pollution – Focus on the Marine Environment
Plastic pollution and marine litter pose a significant threat to our oceans, ecosystems, and the overall health of our planet. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, a diverse group of stakeholders and players are coming together to form a powerful Community of Action against Plastic Pollution – Focus on the Marine Environment. This coalition aims to leverage the collective knowledge, expertise, and resources of its members to drive tangible and sustainable solutions to address this global challenge.
The session “Community of Action against Plastic Pollution – Focus Session on Marine Environment “will invite participants to engage in a dynamic dialogue that explores the transformative potential of collaboration across sectors. The session will provide a platform for stakeholders from the private sector, governments, civil society organizations, scientific institutions, and international bodies to share their experiences, insights, and innovative approaches.
The objectives of this session are threefold: First, to foster an understanding of the multi-dimensional nature of marine litter and its impact on marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and human health. Second, to showcase successful case studies and initiatives implemented by various stakeholders, highlighting best practices and lessons learned. Lastly, to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, resources, tools and expertise among the participants. The session will feature engaging presentations from renowned experts and an interactive panel discussion to encourage meaningful dialogue and collaboration. By the end of the session, participants will have a clear understanding of the urgent need for collective action against marine litter and the diverse range of opportunities for collaboration. They will be invited to join the Community of Action, actively contribute to ongoing initiatives, and initiate new efforts in their respective domains.
In conclusion, the session will serve as a catalyst for transformative change, empowering stakeholders from different sectors to combine their efforts, knowledge, and resources. Together, we can build a future where our oceans thrive, free from the scourge of marine litter.
Moderator: Aditi Ramola, Technical Director, ISWA
– Christina Jaeger, Managing Director, Yunus Environment Hub (Germany)
– Oda Korneliussen, Programme Manager, Clean Oceans through Clean Communities, Avfall Norge (Norway)
– Dr. Jürgen Hannak, Head of Circular Economy Program, adelphi (Germany)
– Björn Appelqvist, Scientific and Technical Committee Chair, ISWA (Denmark)
– Mochamad Satya Oktamalandi (Andik), Project Manager, Indonesia Solid Waste Association (Indonesia)
16:50 – 17:30
Main Congress Hall
Panel Discussion #2
Shaping Global Environmental Discourse: High-Level Plenary on Triple Planetary Crisis, Inclusion, and a Just Transition in the Waste and Resource Management Sector
The world is facing a triple planetary crisis comprising climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. As we address these interconnected challenges, we must ensure that the transition towards sustainability is just, equitable, and inclusive. Action from institutions and companies is being demanded by civil society and this is only expected to grow. It is clearer than ever that a sensible waste and resource policy, no matter how modest, can make a world of difference in combating the triple planetary crisis. For some low-and-middle income countries there are other things that seem more important, but a good waste policy and a well-functioning waste management system pays for itself many times over. It is an investment in the future, in our children, in future generations. In this session, our distinguished panelists will discuss how the international environmental discourse around waste and resource management is evolving. This panel discussion aims to explore these intersecting themes. A key aspect in the discussion will be on how industry, society, and government institutions can react and act to attend to the demands and calls for action concerning the triple planetary crisis from the waste and resource management angle. The session will be moderated by Philip Heylen who will challenge the speakers to each come up with a concrete, tangible proposal, with which we can make the globe cleaner and greener in the short term.
Moderator: Philip Heylen, International Relations & Corporate Affairs Officer, Ackermans & van Haaren (Belgium)
– Els Van Doesburg, former Member of Parliament and Vice-Mayor, Antwerp (Belgium)
– Aline Cardoso, Secretary of Economic Development and Labor (Brazil)
– Björn Appelqvist, Scientific and Technical Committee Chair, ISWA (Denmark)
– Christina Jaeger, Managing Director, Yunus Environment Hub (Germany)
– Louis de Poncheville, Senior Vice President, Waste Business Development, SUEZ (France)
17:30 – 17:40
Main Congress Hall
RAFFLE DRAW #1
17:40 – 18:00
Main Congress Hall
MOU SIGNING
18:00
WELCOME RECEPTION
(OMAN CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTER GARDEN)