Seminar on Business Opportunities in Waste Management: Potentials and Challenges

Online, August 18, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Business Opportunities in Waste Management: Potentials and Challenges
Date: October 5, 2011
Venue: WASME House, Noida, Sector 16A

Increase in volume and types of solid waste have become an unmanageable problem for national and local governments. It has come to be a major challenge for all developing economies. Waste mountains have come to be a regular scene in many cities around the world, especially in the developing world. According to latest World Waste Survey Report, some 4 billion tonnes of municipal, industrial and hazardous waste are produced every year globally. It is estimated that the world market for waste, from collection to recycling, is worth about $410 billion a year.

Background

Waste management used to be considered a public good, where municipal authorities provided this service. However municipal authorities alone cannot deal with the challenge of managing waste in today's world, owing to rapid rise in solid waste creation.
Interestingly, the private sector can play a huge role in providing the service economically and efficiently and the role of this sector is well accepted in policy circles across the world.

There are multiple benefits arising from increased private sector participation. Apart from the possibility of fast technology adoption, innovation potential in waste management technology and processes and new ways of recycling, the private sector can contribute by creating thousands of new jobs in the recycling and waste management industry and help create cleaner cities and a give boost to a greener economy.

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have immense business opportunities in this sector, because out of the total 4 billion tonnes of waste produced worldwide, just one billion is currently being recovered and only part of them recycled.

There are two aspects that define prospects for private sector, especially, MSMEs in the waste management sector. Firstly, the tremendous speed at which urbanization is happening across the developing economies and secondly, the scope and huge potential for international trade in secondary raw materials recovered from waste. Recycling of waste has huge business potentials and it can emerge as a core sector of the emerging green economy.

Seminar Focus

Land filling is currently the prevailing method of waste management method adopted. However, better solutions have to be explored in waste-management, considering damaging consequences of toxic/hazardous waste, greenhouse-gas emissions, water pollution and air pollution. For instance, organic waste could be converted into organic fertilizer.

Waste management is an emerging field that offers entrepreneurial opportunities. In this context World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME) is planning to organize a seminar on Business Opportunities in Waste Management: Potentials and Challenges.

Future waste management offers many business opportunities for the private sector such as: waste-collection/disposal services; operation of recycling plant; e-waste recycling; Consultancy; equipment supply; organic fertilizer manufacturing; transportation; trade in recycled materials

Objective

The seminar would discuss and review economic opportunities in the field of Solid Waste Management for MSME sector.

• Business opportunities in solid waste management sector
• What are the challenges and hurdles for start-ups especially small investors in this sector
• Few select areas that MSMEs could enter into and the business models
• Some of the success stories and best practices

Two Sessions

It is hoped the seminar would throw some light upon how entrepreneurs and MSMEs could take advantage of this business. There will be two sessions. First would be the technical session, which will review current status of waste management with a global perspective and present the case and role of private sector especially MSMEs in it. It would also explore some of the technological options that private sector could adopt.

In the second session, SME players would share some of their experiences, which will be followed by discussions.

For more details Contact:

Dr.P.Koshy
Sr. Economist
WASME
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.wasmeinfo.org
+91-9953871432
91-120-4216283