Waste ReForum 2020

Brave New World: A Daring Look Into the Future

July 14-16, 2020 – Virtual

The conference theme was Brave New World: A Daring Look Into the Future, which considered how waste reduction would change going forward—from robotics to circular processes.

Schedule

Tuesday, July 14

 Minority Report: Keynote speaker — Linear and circular material flows and the roots of sustainability — Darrin Qualman

Darrin Qualman is the author of Civilization Critical: Energy, Food, Nature, and the Future.

End Game: Concurrent Session A: Plastics in the Future

•   Options for Chemical Recycling — Louis Bertrand, Sweet Gazoil
•   The Future of Plastics – Pierre Benabidès, Expert consultant, Recyclabilité & Développement de marchés

Soylent Green: Concurrent Session B – Food Waste & Organics

• Putting Food to its Highest and Best Use — Jaime White, Loop Resource
• Slow Food on Food Waste: What’s Pleasure Got to Do WIth It? — Noelle Chorney, Tall Order
• Semi-Underground Organics Containment: The Next Frontier — Tim Corcoran, Molok North America

Wednesday, July 15

Mythbusters: Plenary Session — Lightning Talks

• Myth: Glass is inert and not worth recycling — Chantelle Diakuw, SARCAN Recycling  VIDEO
• Myth: Compostable plastics solve the single-use crisis — Meg Dorwart, SWRC  VIDEO
• Myth: Pay-as-you-throw programs cause more illegal dumping — Daniel Mireault, City of Saskatoon  VIDEO
• Myth: Environmental handling fees are just another tax grab— Ethan Richardson, SARRC  VIDEO
• Myth: Uranium waste needs to be transported for disposal — Tim Moulding, Ministry of Environment  VIDEO
• Myth: Reusable containers cannot be used by public food vendors — Kelsie Dale, Ministry of Health  VIDEO
• Myth: Curbside waste collection cannot be simplified — Jan d’Ailly, Eagle Vision Systems  VIDEO
• Myth: Landfills are irredeemable graveyards for junk— Dominique Turcotte, Ministry of Environment  VIDEO
• Myth: Landfill Scavenging has to be a dangerous liability — Michel Lefebvre, Tetra Tech  VIDEO
• Myth:  Leasing societies create excess waste — Henry Mutafya, SaskTel  VIDEO

Dark City: Concurrent Session C – Creating Effective Policy

• Working Together to Reduce Waste in Saskatchewan — Brienne Bennett, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment
• All Together Now: The Advantages and Limitations of Harmonization — Jay Illingworth, EPRA
• Prince Albert’s Plastic Shopping Bag Ban – Nisar Ghani, City of Prince Albert

 I-Robot: Concurrent Session D – Robotics

• Machine Learning and AI. It’s not the future, it’s now, are you ready? — Jared Fedorchuk, Levis Technologies
• SamurAI Sorting Recyclables — Matthew Smith, Machinex
• Machine Learning and Data Collaboration in Waste Management — Sam Dietrich, Prairie Robotics

Thursday, July 16

The Final Frontier: Fireside Chat — Circular Economy, Circular Thinking, Circular Practices — Frances Edmonds

Christina Seidel from the Recycling Council of Alberta interviews Frances Edmonds, Head of Sustainable Impact at HP Canada about the circular economy, sustainable purchasing and more.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Concurrent Session E – – Public Education & Engagement

• Waste Reclamation Fundamentals: Three critical concepts for recycling education  — Lori Koebel, Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corp
• Beyond Education and Engagement – Fixing the contamination crisis at the source with standardized labels on recycling bins— Alex Bunker, Recycle Across America
• City of Regina Curbside Education — Derek Adam, City of Regina

War of the Worlds: Concurrent Session F – – Global Waste Issues

• Exporting Waste Around the Globe: Why & How —  Jim Puckett, Basil Action Network
• The State of the Recovered Paper Markets — Bill Moore, Moore & Associates