The Future Waste conference held by ALS Environmental earlier this week provided delegates with an interactive opportunity to discuss emerging concerns within the waste sector. The event saw experts from across Europe attend to present a European  perspective on how Waste, such as SRF and RDF, can be utilised cost effectively and how the updates to WM3 could result in a greater requirement to analyse for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The morning began with a presentation highlighting the accreditation process by ALS Environmental's Quality Director, Christopher Caird. This presentation always helps to set the scene in terms of method development from through to implementation into the laboratory. 

Jacquie Doone of Biffa Waste Services provided a presentation on "LOI and the Admin Vortex" which focused on the challenges presented by the recent changes to HMRC taxation of landfill waste associated to the Loss On Ignition limits. The morning concluded with a presentation on "Emerging Contaminants" from the ALS UK technical team who are working on the CIP2 parameters and supporting our European colleagues in the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This presentation provoked an interesting debate over coffee regarding the technical capabilities of laboratories in the 21^st century.

To view our Loss on Ignition technical datasheet please click here

The second round of presentations saw Mike Cohen, a figure head for the environmental laboratory sector, introduce the background to changes made to WM3 in July 2016 including how upto 70% of waste could be required to be reclassified. This was followed by a review of the Scandinavian requirements for Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) and Refuse Derived Fuels (RDF) and discussions on municipal waste testing requirements for exporting to this region, presented by Morten Christensen of ALS Europe. 

To view our RDF and SRF technical datasheet please click here

An interactive discussion on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) closed the talk prior to lunch, with Olivier Lecott from ALS Prague leading the debate and highlighting the environmental risk factors associated with the POPs highlighted in Stockholm Convention and beyond. Olivier was saught after over lunch to discuss the techniques and implications of POPs testing before the interactive laboratory tours.

Morten Christensen, ALS Environmentals European Sales & Marketing Manager, who presented at Future Waste on RDF and SRF. comments:

The Future Waste event was an interactive and enjoyable day for all delegates and speakers. The European team were impressed at the levels of interest and knowledge from all delegates and we look forward to the next event held by the UK. The fact that delegates were able to interact with the a range of analysts during the laboratory tour added a real variance to make the event stand out from other conferences.

For more information on our Waste Management services, including POPs and HMRC Loss on Ignition  or our upcoming events, please contact us or call your Customer Service Co-ordinator on 02476 42 12 13.