James Sumner Award Winner 2014 Robert Reinhardt attends the International Solid Waste Association World Congress 2014

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.

 

The ISWA World Congress 2014 Venue: World Trade Center, São Paulo

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.

ISWA President David Newman, 

CIWM delegate Robert Reinhardt

& Chairman of the ISWA World 

Congress 2014 Carlos Silva Filho

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.

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.

 Dismantling process of refrigerators and freezers.

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.

Two temporary part time paid positions creating Youtube style videos on the use of ArcGIS and ArcMap

After successfully winning funding from the University of Northampton Innovation Fund for a project to enhance teaching and learning in GIS Dr Janet Jackson has announced two paid part time temporary positions (equivalent of 16.5 hours for two weeks.)  Year 3 students who took ENV2036 in year two are required for this project, and will be involved in creating Youtube style videos on the use of ArcGIS and ArcMap.  

The University's employment agency UNITEMP is handling the job application process through their website https://www.unitemps.com/Search/JobDetails/2405.  Although information states that the position should start this week, Janet can be flexible in terms of delivery of the project over the next two months.  Deadline for applications is Friday 19^th September.

Children, Young People and Families in Changing Urban Spaces Conference

The Centre for Children and Youth welcomed delegates from around the world to share research and ideas about ‘Children, Young People and Families in Changing Urban Spaces’ (http://cypchangingurbanspaces.com/ #ccyevent) at their two-day conference last week. The conference brought together new multidisciplinary research exploring the lives, issues and experiences of children, young people and families in diverse, international urban contexts. As well as welcoming academics from across the UK, there were speakers from New Zealand, Finland, Canada, Singapore, Ireland and India. Themes explored included: creativity and conflict in public spaces, families in urban environments, children and the planning of urban spaces, growing up in an age of austerity, and innovative methods of researching with young people. A keynote speech was given by Tracey Skelton, Associate Professor of Geography, National University of Singapore. Plans have been made to publish research presented at the conference in an international journal and a book.

Associate Professor John Horton closes the conference by drawing 

together the various themes and ideas discussed over the two days.

British Society for Geomorphology Annual Conference 2014, University of Manchester

Mattie Biddulph

As Geomorphologists, Jenny Evans and I are members of the British Society for Geomorphology. Every year there is a three-day conference, based around the general theme of geomorphology. There is a big emphasis on encouraging postgraduates to get involved, and helping them with their careers once they graduate. This year it was at the University of Manchester.

I arrived on the Sunday evening at the halls I would be staying in, after quite a lot of walking round in circles trying to find it… Manchester is a LOT bigger than Northampton! On Monday morning there was a special workshop for postgrads, where a panel was set up made up of a mixture of academics and industry workers in varying stages of their careers. This panel then gave advice and answered questions on career choices, worries surrounding an academic life, and tip on getting a job. It was very useful, but a lot of us spent the coffee break worrying about the potential prospect of moving location year after year for the next decade.

In the afternoon the conference officially began, with a River Restoration workshop, which was very apt for Jenny and me. It was really interesting to see different approaches to restoration, especially seeing examples of when it has gone badly wrong. Dr Malcolm Newson gave a particularly interesting talk, where he described the difficulties in trying to talk to the general public, particularly after flood events when tensions are running high. That evening we were given a buffet and drinks in the Manchester Museum, surrounded by fossils and dinosaur skeletons!

 

View of the Manchester Museum

The next day was made up of talks ranging from: the importance of long-term water quality records, to marine-influenced ice sheet decay, to channel migration in the Mekong River. Geomorphology is a huge and extremely varied subject. Today was also the day for a talk from Northampton’s Ian Foster, who gave a very interesting presentation, titled “Are lake/reservoir sediments really sensitive to environmental change? A question and (sort of) an answer from a case study in S. Africa.” That evening we had a conference dinner, set in the Christie’s library, which was a beautiful setting. 

 

Wednesday was the final day for the conference, again with a huge variety of talks, including an award lecture from Professor Jonathan Phillips from Kentucky, where he described geomorphology as ‘badass’, and gave us advice on how to become badass ourselves- that got our attention! We had a brilliant three days; the good thing about this society is that you can always count on seeing familiar faces each year, all with similar interests regardless of their specific research. We were all very tired by the end, despite being sat in a lecture theatre for the majority of the time - I think most people can relate to the mysteries of sleepiness whilst sat in those rooms…

The International Association for Sediment Water Science Conference, South Africa 2014

Mattie Biddulph

In July this year I travelled to Grahamstown, on the Eastern Cape of South Africa for an international conference indulging purely in sediment water science. I had never been to such a specific conference before, so was looking forward to perhaps understanding most of what was going on for a change! Myself, Simon Pulley and Ian Foster took the long journey down south (two planes and many, many hours of waiting in airports) to arrive in a freezing cold but bright and sunny South African winter, which suited Simon and I just fine, as that’s when the spiders decide to stay hidden… Rhodes University had a beautiful campus, and the town itself was a quirky mix of South African and British settlers.

The conference itself was slightly daunting as we both had to chair a session, as well as presenting. Themes covered: sediment fingerprinting, vegetation-sediment relationships, biogeochemistry, connectivity and catchment scale processes, finishing with “framework and tools for management”, which is where my talk slotted in. I presented my PhD research on finding the best methods for testing the effectiveness of mitigation measures, which have been put in place to reduce agricultural sediment pollution and their associated pollutants in England and Wales. River systems in South Africa and the UK are very different, particularly due to climate and geology; despite this, there were some useful ideas to be shared, as there is a strong argument for landowner control, using cheap, sustainable materials and low maintenance methods.

For one day of the conference, it was “fieldtrip day”. Simon and I chose to go on the trip to Addo Elephant Park, where we drove around the game reserve and were lucky enough to see dozens of animals that we definitely would not see at home, including: meerkats, warthog, zebra, kudu, springbok, giraffe and of course, elephants. It was a lovely day out, and apparently Ian’s boat trip along the Mansfield River was equally enjoyable.

Elephants at Addo Elephant Park

We were lucky enough to join some postgrads (Kat and Jordan) and Bennie, a PhD student, for a trip to Compassberg and Nieu Bethesda, a beautiful part of the country where you can be the only souls for at least 10 km around you. It was very interesting to work on some unfamiliar river systems and geomorphological features. We also did some sample collection for Ian’s research, followed by a night in a farmhouse without electricity but a very warm fire and a bottle of brandy! 

Ian testing the nitrate and phosphate of this incredible clean river near Nieu-Bethesda

Bennie, Jordan and Kat from Rhodes University, after some disturbance experiments

It was a fantastic experience, so much so that Simon is still out there, about to begin his post-doc. So far he’s learnt how to use a washing machine but has been without water for 4 days!