The much-anticipated biennial event on the IWMSA calendar, WasteCon, is back again, with this issue of RéSource being the official magazine at the event. In this issue, we welcome the new institute president Deidre Nxumalo-Freeman and a new editor on RéSource, starting with the November 2012 edition. After much deliberation and with a heavy heart, I say goodbye to my friends and colleagues in Johannesburg as my family and I prepare for life in the Mother City. Just talking about the amazing people I have the privilege of calling friends and the talented people I have had the privilege of working with, will see my farewell speech fill this entire magazine. So, in summary, I am grateful for the knowledge gained, friendships made and successes shared.

This may be the end of my journey in the waste industry but the show must go on, and kicking off this issue are the environmental experts at Oilkol as well as Desco Electronic Recyclers sharing the company’s history and its recipe for success.

A very interesting read in this issue is a round-up of KPMG’s recent report Expect the Unexpected: Building Business Value in a Changing World, which looks at the 10global sustainability megaforces affecting global, environmental and social issues. Each one has important implications for business, which must be understood, assessed and built in to long-term strategic planning. Another one definitely worth a read is the Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA) waste collection pilot project in Mafikeng. The programme is being run in the peri-urban areas surrounding Mafikeng Local Municipality through a service level agreement with the DEA and the municipality. It has provided over 31 850 rural households with kerbside waste collection and two free plastic refuse bags per week.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Tetrapak, in conjunction with Gayatri Paper Mills, has launched a new carton recycling mill in Germiston. Gayatri employs a modified hydropulper, not unlike a giant, domestic blender, which separates the paper board from the PolyAlu through a cold water friction process. The baled units are fed – caps and all – via an elevator into the hydropulper. The pulper blade agitates the cold water solution and within 20 minutes the paper board has become separated from the PolyAlu portions. The pulp is pumped off into the main paper mill where it is turned into cardboard…and the manufacturing process continues. With sustainability a key economic and environmental driver, this recycling mill will also help boost local jobs. On the subject of sustainability, who thinks that an eco-friendly coal-fired power station is nothing more than a fabricated theory? Well, the Cosira Group/Alstom Consortium has been appointed main suppliers of the wet flue gas desulphurisation plant for Kusilepower station. A first of its kind in South Africa, the plant will dramatically reduce the sulphur dioxide content from the power plant’s flue gases in order to improve the limits set by international committees on emissions from coal-fired power stations. But I’m going to stop right there before I give away all of the magazine’s content.

I probably won’t see most of you until our paths cross someday, so enjoy WasteCon and stay blessed.