INTEGRAL to the mining process is the production of waste in all its forms and management of waste has become a crucial part of not only successful mining but safe, socially responsible and environmentally friendly mining.

In 2017, The ASIA Miner will collaborate with one of the world’s leading authorities in waste to energy management solutions to present comprehensive information on this vital aspect of mining. Each issue of The ASIA Miner in 2017 will feature various innovative Waste to Energy technologies used in and around mining sites.

Waste to Energy Forum

An important waste to energy event in early 2017 will put the focus squarely on this important area. Building on the successful 2016 event the Australian Industrial Ecology Network (AIEN) will host the second annual Australian Waste to Energy Forum on February 22 and 23 in Ballarat, Victoria, supported by Downer EDI Limited. Other supporters include STEINERT Australia, AlterNRG, Metso and Brentwood Recycling Systems. Media partners are The ASIA Miner and Waste + Water Management Australia.

The two-day event with the theme ‘Waste to Energy – What it means in the Australian context’, will explore potential opportunities for the industry in Australia and what it might look like in the future.

Changes in government policy have created renewed interest in energy from waste opportunities and Australia is now considered, internationally, to be a potential growth market.

Due to Australia’s unique conditions it is widely accepted that the Waste to Energy market will be different than in other countries. This forum will consider what has worked around the world and what Australia can learn from those experiences.

The forum will examine what waste to energy means in the Australian context and will give participants the opportunity to join leaders in the waste, recycling and energy sectors for networking and a program that will explore future opportunities for the waste to energy industry in Australia.

Keynote speaker is Eunomia Research & Consulting’s principal consultant and head of international business development Dr Darren Perrin. Prior to joining Eunomia, he delivered waste consultancy projects in Australia and New Zealand, supporting councils, state governments and the private sector.

Darren Perrin is an experienced chartered waste consultant with more than 17 years’ experience in the industry in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. He has delivered a range of consultancy projects and developed guidance documents on Waste Strategy Development and Implementation, the Design of Recycling Systems, Alternative Waste Technologies, Data Management, Waste Auditing and Behaviour Change.

His keynote presentation will be titled ‘Why does Australia want incineration?’ As the country becomes increasingly pre-occupied by the question as to why there is no Energy from Waste Incinerator in Australia, this talk will askwhy the country might feel it needs such facilities. It will explore the costs and benefits of incineration, and consider the rationale for managing waste more sustainably, indicating where prioritisation might be more appropriate.

Other guest speakers include World Bioenergy Association’s Andrew Lang, Melbourne Water’s Bill Pemberton, Lenihan Consulting’s Vanessa Lenihan, ResourceCo’s Ben Sawley, EnergyXpert solutions’ Chris MacPherson, Starfish Initiatives’ Ian Gesch, HZI Australia’s Dr Marc Stammbach, Alter NRG’s Ken Willis, RES Kaidi’s Eric Darmstaedter, Jackson Environment and Planning’s Dr Mark Jackson, MRA Consulting Group’s David Cocks, Veolia’s Tom Wetherill, Renewed Carbon’s Mark Glover and AIEN’s Garbis Simonian.

Government, industry and individuals will be able to learn, network and discuss issues in an open forum with like-minded and interested companies and individuals. Visit www.aien.com.au/wteforum for more information.

AIEN focus on industrial ecology

The AIEN was established in November 2009 to promote and facilitate sustainable development through the application of industrial ecology (IE). It was established as a proprietary limited company in October 2014 and offers a forum in which members can keep in touch, canvas issues of interest and connect with resources associated with the practice and study of IE.

The company aims to provide a ‘window on the world’ of IE by relaying news, organising events and alerting people to developments in academia and in practice.

In effect, AIEN aspires to become the ‘go-to’ organisation for all things to do with industrial ecology, including collaboration on the design, planning and implementation of IE projects.

The overarching objective of Industrial Ecology is sustainable development, approached from the perspective of industry. IE encompasses a wide range of inter-related scientific and academic activities, all aimed at improving industrial sustainability in practice.

Such activities might relate, for example, to urban renewal, recovering resources, generating clean energy, eco-industrial development or industrial symbiosis. They involve collaboration between people in occupations as diverse as public sector policy and administration, biology, economics, academia, environmental management, engineering, industrial design and education, to name just a few.

A particular objective of industrial ecology is that society achieves in the near future the concept of a Circular Economy, in which resources are conserved and all materials are reused again and again, indefinitely.

Industrial best practice and the formation of government policy are supported by analytical techniques such as life cycle assessment (LCA), materials flow analysis (MFA), various forms of footprint analysis and many other ways of developing information.

All these and many other elements of research and practice come within the ambit of industrial ecology and they do not apply only to manufacturing. Much of the knowledge and practice of industrial ecology applies also to extractive industries, such as mining and oil, agribusiness (such as farming and meat production), forestry, fisheries and even industries such as tourism and hospitality.

A fundamental tenet of industrial ecology is effective collaboration between people in government, academia and the private sector. Facilitating collaboration through its network of members is a core function of the AIEN.