Conference 2009
"Waste Treatment Industry Promotion in Kazakhstan and International Waste Management Expertise WasteTech Central Asia 2009"
The General sponsor of the conference was one of the world’s leading natural resources companies, ENRC Kazakhstan. The bronze sponsors were Tengizchevroil and OLZHAS.
The main issues discussed included:
- Waste management as contribution to further prosperity of Kazakhstan
- Waste recycling development capacity
- Best practices of industrial waste recycling and treatment
- Waste as an energy source: biogas, methane, sulphur, effective use of resources and energy conservation
- Economical stimulus in waste management
Among 120 delegates participating in the conference there were officials from interested ministries and governmental agencies, Almaty City Administration, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Administration of Almaty City, specialists of waste management designing and service companies, top environmental managers and environmental engineers of industrial companies, top specialists of research institutes, representatives of international organisations, embassies and journalists.
In his talk, the Deputy Chairman of the Environmental Management and Control Committee of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Adletbek Bekeev, said: “In his message to the people ‘Through crisis to renewal and development’, the President drew attention to the fact that wastefulness must be replaced by sensible consumption and savings.” The ministry representative also stressed that today production and consumption waste are one of the most pressing environmental problems in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and their annual volume in Kazakhstan amounts to 20 billion tons, of which 18 billion tons are in the mining and smelting industry. In total, about 200 million tons of wastes per year are currently utilized in Kazakhstan. Adletbek Bekeev also highlighted the fact that municipal solid waste (MSW) processing is not developing, although the regional, Astana and Almaty Akimats have formulated regional programmes to manage solid household waste. However, these programmes primarily involve the construction of new MSW landfills, and the elimination of unauthorized dumps with recultivation of the disturbed land. Given that the composition of MSW is about 50% recycled materials, Adletbek Bekeev underlined the need to actively develop recycling.
Vladimir Bobir, Vice President on Operations,
ENRC Kazakhstan in his welcome speech on behalf of the General Sponsor said: “It is for the first time when the Conference on Waste Management and Historical Waste Disposal is held in Central Asia and on behalf of ENRC, its General Sponsor I wish to thank the organisers for excellent organisation of this event”. “ENRC closely monitors its emissions, waste water discharge and quantity of wastes as well as quality of air, surface and ground waters and soil. We regularly invest in modern environmental-friendly and energy-saving technologies. Ongoing replacement of equipment will significantly contribute to further activities of Health, Labour and Ecology Improvement Group”, he emphasised.
“The problem of waste management is extremely important for large businesses in the country and, in particular, for companies in the mining and smelting sector, as they are the largest sources of industrial waste,” said Gulsara Yedilbayeva, the Executive Director of KBASD, and Chairwoman of the plenary session “Integrated use of recycled resources and waste in the extractive industries”. In her talk, Ms. Yedilbayeva stressed that the work done by the Parliament of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Environmental Protection to establish policies and legislative frameworks for production waste management, and the special conference on waste held during the EcoTech exhibition, would accelerate the use of management approaches in the industry in dealing with environmental issues.
The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (ONREM) of Almaty announced that the issue of removing household garbage is gradually being solved. “Previously, in Almaty, there were a mass of waste removal organisations that did not carry out their functions very well. This year, there are 32 such organisations in Almaty. They face tougher requirements: they must have contracts for servicing of containers, their own operations base, and specialised waste removal equipment,” said the Head of the Department of Environmental Information at ONREM of Almaty, Naziya Aukhinova. In order to bring waste collection technology up to modern requirements, the Office has developed a pilot project on the example of Alatau District, which follows similar schemes in European countries: the installation of underground Ecosir containers. The use of containers of this type makes it possible to increase the number by 3-5 times, compared with containers located above ground, increases the life of the container fivefold and significantly improves the architectural image of areas.
In total 21 reports/presentations were delivered/made by the representatives of the following organisations/companies: the Environmental Management and Control Committee of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan, The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (ONREM) of Almaty, ENRC Kazakhstan, Anadolu University (Turkey), Centre for Sustainable Production and Consumption (Kazakhstan), Chevron Corporation, KommunKhoz State Utilities Enterprise of Petropavlovsk City Akimat (Administration), Vtorma Ecology Co. (Kazakhstan), Federal Centre for Municipal Improvement and Environmental Safety of Urban Territories, K.D. Pamfilov Academy of Municipal Services (Russia), Centre for Municipal Improvement and Waste Treatment OJSC (Russia), NAUE GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Olzhas LLP. (Kazakhstan), Mewa Recycling Maschinen und Anlagenbau GmbH (Germany), Kazakhstan Business Council for Sustainable Development (KBCSD), KazMunaiGas Exploration Production JSC (Kazakhstan), "Oriental Co.Ltd" (Kazakhstan), AES Group of Businesses in Kazakhstan, KazMekhanObr State Research & Production Association of Industrial Ecology (Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan), Research Institute of Environmental Problems (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University), SCS Engineers (Contractor to the program Methane-to-Markets), US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), Kazakh National Technical University named after K.I. Satpayev.
Organisers: “Iteca” (Kazakhstan)/ ITE Group Pls. (UK) in collaboration with Kazakhstan Business Association for Sustainable Development (KBASD).
By this link you can download pictures taken at the conference
( PHOTOS... )