Robert Reinhardt
My curiosity for waste management
started from a young age and has since grown into a subject I am very
passionate about. After completing the BA (Hons) Business Studies at the
University of Westminster in 2009, I made the decision to study MSc Waste
Management at the University of Northampton due to my persistent attraction to
solve the unique challenges associated within the field of Waste Management.
Over the period of the course, I have developed a strong interest on the
research area of electronic waste (e-waste) and this is why I am currently
writing my MSc dissertation on the topic of how to build capacity in the
informal e-waste recycling sector in Agbogbloshie (Ghana) in order to enable
environmentally sound management of these waste streams, often containing both
valuable and hazardous components.
As the winner of this year’s
James Sumner Award 2014, I attended the International Solid Waste Association
(ISWA) World Congress 2014 in São Paulo as a delegate of the Chartered
Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM). My choice of this congress was not
accidental – it was held at the World Trade Center under the key message “(Re)
Discovering a New World: Sustainable Solutions for a healthy future” and
brought together the international waste community to exchange ideas,
experiences, perspectives, trends and case studies related to sustainable waste
management in order to develop common visions for the future of a sustainable
and healthy world.
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The ISWA World Congress 2014
Venue: World Trade Center, São Paulo
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The congress began with a welcome
speech by ISWA’s president David Newman, underlining how good waste management
contributes to a healthy future particularly with regards to the developing
world. This was followed by an opening address by the Chairman of the congress
Carlos Silva Filho, welcoming all delegates to São Paulo and introducing the
three-day multi-disciplinary program including lectures and case study
presentations that point out the latest developments in waste management around
the world.
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ISWA President David Newman,
CIWM
delegate Robert Reinhardt
& Chairman of the ISWA World
Congress 2014 Carlos Silva Filho
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| YPG session |
The Young Professionals Group
On the first day I attended the
special session “New Visions and Innovations on Old Themes”, which was
organised by ISWA’s Young Professional Group (YPG). YPG was founded at the ISWA
World Congress 2013 in Vienna by 30 young professionals, in order to develop
new ideas and initiatives that address the challenges in waste management
through engagement with a wider society. The session lasted over four hours and
was extremely helpful to myself as never before have I been able to discuss
issues around sustainable waste management with people of my age that are
passionate about the same topic.
As a result of this session I
decided to become a member of the YPG and attended the board meeting on the
second day of the congress whereby the future direction of the YPG was
discussed, in particular what can be improved and which topics should be
presented at the YPG session at the ISWA World Congress 2015 in Antwerp. Also
we agreed to set up a YPG website that can serve as a tool of communicating and
exchanging our ideas, visions and latest developments to others in the form of
e.g. a blog, but also represents a good marketing platform for attracting even
more young members. I strongly believe in the importance and success of this
group as young professionals not only possess the agile sensitivities and
adaptabilities to changes but also lead changes.
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| YPG after the board meeting |
Technical Visit: Indústria Fox
Given my research interest in
e-waste, on the second and third day of the congress, I mainly attended
scientific presentations on e-waste such as sessions on e-waste case studies
in Brazil, China and Nigeria or E-waste management in Brazil and the Basel Convention.
During these sessions I met Dr. Philipp Bohr, who holds a PhD from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and is currently the CEO of the e-waste recycling
company Indústria Fox (IF). IF was founded in 2009 and is South America’s
first-state-of-the-art recycling facility for refrigerators and freezers that
focuses on climate protection by reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated
with irresponsible end-of-life management of cooling and freezing appliances.
Due to my interest to continue my scientific research in e-waste management as
part of a PhD in the future, I introduced myself to Philipp and we had an
interesting discussion on e-waste management in the developing world, which led
to Philipp inviting me to a technical visit at this company.
The technical visit to Indústria
Fox, which is located in Cabreúva just outside of São Paulo, was extremely
helpful as I was able to get a practical inside view of a high-tech recycling
facility that produces recycled materials and offers end-of-life management
services (refrigerator exchange and waste recycling programs). Philipp showed
me around the facility and explained in detail all processes involved:
Indústria Fox turns finished products back into raw materials such as copper
and aluminum while at the same time capturing and purifying greenhouse gases to
avoid further impacts on the ozone layer and global warming.
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Dismantling process of refrigerators and freezers.
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At the end of the
day Philipp offered me the opportunity to come and work for Indústria Fox in
the form of a 6-month internship followed by the possibility to start a PhD in
collaboration with a German research university that is currently planning to
set up an e-waste research project for 2015. Clearly this site visit was a
major benefit for me as I not only extended my network in the global e-waste
world but also I may be able to start a PhD in 2015.
Attending the ISWA World Congress
2014 has given me the ideal opportunity to meet global waste management
professionals and establish an important network for prospective collaboration
in research projects. Furthermore I have strengthened my passion and
willingness to get involved in e-waste management work in countries such as Brazil or South Africa. There is no doubt that the opportunities
associated with the James Sumner Award are endless and this is why I would
recommend that anyone who is eligible should apply.
