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This year, for the first time, the Waste Management Association of Australia presents a Young Professionals event at the Waste and Recycle Conference. The theme of this year’s Conference gives us the chance to consider the decisions being made now and how they will affect our future.

• Are the current decision makers planning for a sustainable future or just the next election/pay rise?
• Is either government or industry making an effort to get the delicate balance right between environmental, economic and social factors?
• We are the future, how can we do it differently?
• Where do you think future advances will be in the waste management industry and sustainable resource management?

The Young Professionals are intent on providing a session with a difference! We aim to put the maxim ‘if it’s too loud, you’re too old’ to the test. As well as Young Professional speakers from a range of different backgrounds, we also plan to include (and grill) the older generation regarding the choices they’ve been making.

Young Professional Keynote Speaker: Richard Gilmore Earthwatch Australia

Beyond Recycling – Engaging Your Staff and the Community in Conservation
The economic and environmental benefits of recycling are well known. But what else can members of the Waste and Recycling industry do to manage their ecological footprint and improve their relationships with stakeholders, including their staff?

Employees, customers, regulators, suppliers and the community at large are all awakening to the importance of a best-practice approach to environmental management in the face of climate change.

In a highly competitive labour market, particularly in the resource-rich West, employers are also becoming increasingly aware of the importance of being recognised as an employer of choice. Young Waste Professionals have a unique opportunity to influence the decision-making of their employers and peers and even their thousands of customers.

Other speakers will include:
• A Year in Waste - Shelley Inglis (Municipal Waste Advisory Council)
• Compost for the Future – Geraldine Busby (EMRC)
• Waste Management: reports from the front line – Swan Catchment Council
• Sustainable buildings – Jenny Campbell (Sustainable Built Environment)
• Environmental compliance on mine sites – Jayne Finch (Goldfields)
• Detailed Investigation into Existing and Potential Markets for Recycled Building Products – Robert Sim (Cardno BSD)
• Waste Management in Banda Ache – Jaya Nair (Murdoch University)
• Sustainable Commercial Kitchens – Justin Sabastian Strange (Strange Consultancy Group)

If you are new to the industry, this session will provide you with an unparalleled opportunity to hear and discuss with your peers a wide range of topics from some truly diverse angles, as well as, providing you with a chance to meet some of the key players in the waste industry. For those who’ve been around for a while, it’s a chance to see the up and comers in the waste industry and the different approaches they’ve been taking.