Waste industry experts across the country and internationally, will be descending on the East London International Convention Centre from 9 – 12 October 2012 to discuss pertinent waste management issues at this year’s WasteCon2012, South Africa’s largest waste management conference.

One of the many hot topics to be tackled by the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) is accreditation and certification for its members.

WasteCon2012 Chairperson, Steve Kalule says, “The aim and purpose of the envisaged accreditation and certification scheme will be to establish a process of accrediting and/or certifying organisations to provide key services within the waste management value chain, including collection, transportation, transfer stations, recycling, re-use and recovery facilities, waste treatment as well as disposal.

“The accreditation and certification scheme will be a systematic process of assuring that service providers of these key waste management services adhere to pre-determined performance quality criteria complying with a national standard. As an organisation that encourages participative processes, we urge members to attend this session and we look forward to their valuable inputs and suggestion,” concludes Kalule.

The IWMSA commissioned the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM) at the North-West University (NWU) to research the feasibility and possible approaches for the establishment of such an accreditation and/or certification scheme for its members to ensure quality assurance within the waste sector in South Africa. The CEM has undertaken extensive research and has used lessons learned from similar schemes both nationally and internationally.

Further details of the conference as well as a comprehensive programme can be viewed at www.wastecon.co.za.