The solid waste management field continues to present complicated challenges to Canadian governments, businesses, and the broader community. Current data about waste streams and process solutions is lacking in detail and quality, and there are many missed opportunities for co-ordination, optimization, and synergy between the various stakeholders due to a lack of awareness and interaction. As a result, the research and analysis capacity for the waste and resource recovery sectors are neither well established nor coordinated between academia, government, or the private sector, and those with expertise are scattered across the country with limited opportunities for interaction or collaboration.
In response to this situation, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) and the University of Waterloo are holding the second annual Solid Waste Management Partnerships Workshop (SWMPW), an invitation-only workshop focused on collaboration in solid waste research, the exploration of opportunities for partnership, and the integration of efforts across stakeholder groups.
This important, full-day event will engage expert voices from universities, government, and industry, facilitating new network connections that will create important insights and ideas on the future of waste management. We anticipate inspired, wide-ranging discussions on all waste-related matters, from evidence-based decision making and policy planning to reduction through resource recovery and final disposal.
The overall workshop goals are:
- To stimulate awareness, interest and understanding of the state of solid waste management research as it relates to technical, economic and policy problems among academia, government and industry
- To identify critical research questions to be addressed within the Canadian context
- To identify key academic and industry representatives interested in developing functional partnerships within specific R&D areas
- To establish and/or reinforce important linkages between key stakeholders within industry, government and academia
- To build a strong network of researchers to serve both industry and government in the development and regulation of improved public policies; and,
- To ascertain ways for coordinating on-going collaborations among academics across Canada.
In short, the Solid Waste Management Partnerships Workshop will investigate how industry, government and academia can collaborate to their mutual benefit. Given the need for intellectual independence, participants will debate how to structure working relationships among the three sectors to develop better public policy and improved decision making. They will ascertain the value of a potential school of waste studies, bringing waste in line with so many other progressive industries, and the value and potential features of a central web portal.
Themes
The workshop structure is built around the following three “theme areas” and the two panels described below, with the goal of formulating projects that are a natural fit between academic expertise and industry/government needs.
Theme Area #1: The Research Capacity and Potential Within Academia
According to a 2012 study there is tremendous academic research capacity in Canada focused on waste-related matters; the study also makes clear that there isn’t nearly as much collaboration among researchers as might be expected. Whether it’s recycling, anaerobic digestion, energy-from-waste, or state-of-the-art landfills, Canadian academics are studying optimum operational parameters and the merits of emerging systems. Climate change impacts, environmental assessment processes, the efficacy of public consultation are among the invaluable areas of study. So why aren’t governments and industry leveraging the strengths of universities? Given the benefits of intellectual rigour and third party validation, why aren’t these three sectors working more closely together to develop better public policy and improve business critical decision-making?
Theme Area #2: The Research Needs and Challenges of Government
In a world with 1,000 television channels and an infinite number of internet sources, it can be nearly impossible for governments to cut through the information clutter and ascertain the true value of select waste technologies and processes. Whether improved recycling systems, emerging energy-from-waste technologies, or state-of-the-art landfill design and management, there is an endless cacophony of perspectives. Many are rooted in misguided stereotypes of the past, while others are based on a fear of the unknown. Then there’s science. So how can industry, government, and academia work together to cut through the noise? How can universities help municipalities and regulators prepare for new and emerging challenges in this new world of infinite opinion?
Theme Area #3: The Research Directions and Opportunities Within Industry
Though not coordinated, industry does engage academia on a range of projects every year. But there are gaps. And there’s repetition when a study undertaken in British Columbia is unknowingly repeated by another researcher in Ontario. So what if this work was synchronized and widely available to policy-makers? What if industry agreed on the role of “big data”? What if on-going and planned studies were tracked to create a spectrum of reference sources that would improve decision-making related to regulatory settings, environmental and financial risks and rewards (through life cycle analysis), necessary policy innovations, public communications, technology market acceptance, etc.?
The International Panel
An auspicious panel of international experts will discuss the lessons learned in their jurisdictions and how universities have played a role in the development of better public policy and improved corporate decision-making, as well as community engagement.
The Domestic Perspective
After a day of extensive investigation and enquiry into the most challenging issues facing the waste industry, the workshop delegates will work together to propose next steps and create a roadmap leading to improved collaborations between academia, industry, and government.
In short, the Solid Waste Management Partnerships Workshop will investigate how industry, government, and academia can collaborate to their mutual benefit. Given the need for intellectual independence, participants will debate how to structure working relationship among these stakeholders. They will discuss the features that a functional web portal might contain. They will ascertain the value of a potential school of waste studies, bringing waste in-line with so many other progressive industries.