On November 8, the 7th International Training Workshop on Waste to Energy (WtE) and the 5th International Symposium on Energy Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste for Sustainable Urban Development concluded with great success. Zhejiang University (ZJU) hosted the events, which were also co-hosted by Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT) and the International Consultant Committee on Waste to Energy (ICCWtE). The activities were sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. The closing ceremony was chaired by Prof. Xiaodong Li from ZJU and co-chaired by Prof. Mi Yan from ZJUT.

This event was included in the agenda of the Global WtERT Congress, where more than 10 members of WtERT participated in the main activities of the workshop.

During the 15-day training, 35 participants from 20 developing countries – Bangladesh, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and Yemen – gained a wealth of experience. The training courses included incineration technology and equipment, operation management, business model, avoiding NIMBY issues, policies and regulations related to waste treatment and disposal, etc. In addition, innovative teaching methods were organized, such as the “virtual tour” of waste incineration plants. The workshop received great support from four leading waste-to-energy (WtE) companies in China, namely SUS Environment Co., Ltd., China Everbright Environment Group Limited, Zheneng Jinjiang Environment Co., Ltd. and China City Environment Protection Engineering Co., Ltd.

During the symposium, Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis, Founder of the Global WtERT Council and Prof. Emeritus of Columbia University, delivered a keynote speech entitled “The Development History and Sustainability Aspects of WtE”. In addition, 20 participants from different countries made presentations related to waste management and treatment.

Since 2016, seven international training workshops on waste to energy have been successfully held. One hundred and eighty-six (186) participants from 34 developing countries in Asia, Africa, America and Europe have been trained so far. Based on this training platform for international cooperation, the foreign trainees can have a deep understanding of China’s science and technology level. Long-term and close cooperation in science and technology among developing countries is established, which contributes to the realization of rich cooperation achievements between China and various developing countries.