This year at IFAT Munich, ISWA brought together experts, members, and partners from across the globe at its pavilion in Hall A5 and on the Orange Stage: four days of substantive, forward-looking dialogue on some of the most pressing challenges facing the waste and resources sector. Across sessions covering plastic pollution, artificial intelligence, international cooperation, organic waste, waste-to-energy, EU policy, and youth engagement, ISWA delivered a programme that was as diverse as it was timely.
Day 1 – Setting the tone on the Orange Stage
ISWA hit the ground running on the first day, with three sessions on the Orange Stage that tackled some of the sector’s most fundamental questions, while the General Secretariat took the opportunity at the pavilion to reconnect with members and partners from around the globe.
The morning opened with an urgent and thought-provoking panel on organic waste and climate action. As Haniyeh Jalalipour (Researcher at Rostock University and Chair of the ISWA Working Group on Biological Treatment of Waste) reflected after the session: nearly half of all municipal solid waste is organic, yet one-third of global waste still ends up in landfills and dumpsites — systems responsible for 89% of the waste sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. Panellists were united in their call for systemic, holistic solutions, from upstream waste prevention to data-driven decision-making, with a strong and consistent focus on the Global South.
The next session with Bettina Kamuk (Global Market Director at Ramboll and Chair of ISWA’s Working Group on Energy Recovery) and Siegfried Scholz (Country President Germany at Kanadevia Inova) took to the stage to address one of the industry’s most persistent debates, making clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to Waste-to-Energy. Their central message: WtE and recycling are complementary, not competing, treating the residual waste that cannot be recycled while avoiding the methane emissions that come with landfilling.
The afternoon brought a grounded discussion on EU waste policy, moderated by Valeria Branca (Director at EXPRA and Chair of the ISWA Working Group on Governance and Legal Issues). Speakers were direct: ambition is not the problem, but translating complex legislation into workable systems at the local level is. Targets alone do not create results; implementation capacity does. The session also touched on a challenge that cuts across the sector: the need to attract the next generation of professionals to deliver the circular economy.
Day 2 – Plastic Pollution and Young Professionals
Breaking the Plastic Pollution Cycle | Highlights from Mostafa Ahmed
On Tuesday, ISWA Technical Lead Mostafa Ahmed shared insights from the ongoing Breaking the Plastic Pollution Cycle campaign, highlighting consistent global challenges and the need for aligned approaches to end plastic pollution. Valeria Branca, Gary Hanko, and Beate Kummer contributed to the discussion, moving from fragmented efforts to a coordinated, system-wide response.
The session reinforced that tackling plastic pollution goes beyond waste management and crosses geographical borders. It also emphasised the need for effective, sustainable financial mechanisms and the delicate balance between acting with urgency and exercising patience to achieve a global agreement on the plastic treaty.
ISWA Young Professionals Group | Highlights from Pratishtha Shrestha
Also on Tuesday, ISWA’s Young Professionals Group (YPG), co-hosted with Julio Raldúa Veuthey, the session welcomed around 20 visitors, including both newcomers interested in ISWA YPG and current/former members reconnecting with the community. The atmosphere was warm and interactive, creating a great peer-to-peer networking space. We introduced ISWA YPG, our Working Groups, and upcoming events, while visitors shared their backgrounds, projects, and sustainability interests. Interactive posters provided insights into young professionals’ priorities, from closing skill gaps through tech training, policy workshops, and project management, to advancing the circular economy through better recycling technology, policy incentives, and informal sector integration. We also discussed how to get involved with ISWA and highlighted upcoming opportunities. The session at IFAT showed that the future of sustainability is in good hands!
Day 3: International Cooperation Projects | Highlights from Aditi Ramola
The session on IFAT’s third day at the ISWA Pavilion brought international development work into the spotlight and showcased international initiatives, including the CLOCC programme in India and Indonesia and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition-funded project on eliminating open burning of waste in Argentina.
The session highlighted practical experiences on stakeholder engagement, behaviour change, and integrated solid waste management approaches in emerging economies, with active participation from ISWA members. As IFAT brings together companies and technology providers from across the waste and wastewater sectors, the discussion generated strong interest in how technical solutions can support on-the-ground implementation projects.
Participants also explored opportunities for greater collaboration, partnerships, and engagement in ISWA’s international cooperation activities.
Later in the afternoon, ISWA members and partners attending IFAT gathered at the ISWA Pavilion for a Networking Reception, a chance to step back from the formal programme and catch up on ongoing projects, initiatives, and activities keeping the waste sector moving forward. The relaxed setting proved to be a valuable space for candid conversations, reconnecting with familiar faces, and forging new connections across the global ISWA community.
Day 4: AI, Digital Technologies, and the Waste Sector’s Strategic Role | Highlights from Jose Uribe
The final day brought one of the week’s most forward-looking conversations. Together with Matthew Steventon from Greyparrot and Peter Knaz from Sensoneo, ISWA’s Operations Director Jose Uribe explored how AI and digital technologies are transforming waste management. Not by replacing the people who work in it, but by making them more efficient – giving them better tools, richer information, and the opportunity to develop skills that simply did not exist before.
One of the important insights was that the value of the data being generated at individual facilities goes beyond optimising a single sorting line. When aggregated across operators, cities, and regions, it becomes the infrastructure for smarter national waste systems. This allows for improved recovery, not just for the usual recycling priorities, but also for the critical raw materials that are critical to the green transition.
At a time when geopolitical pressures are exposing just how vulnerable Europe’s supply chains for these materials really are, the waste and recycling sector is not just an environmental system; it is a strategic one, and AI is one of the tools that can unlock that potential. We also explored ethical issues, such as how technologies developed for high infrastructure economies can help when most of the growth in waste generation will come from lower-income economies in the coming decades.
The truth is that AI and robotics, with increased efficiency in systems, can shift the scales of economy so that advanced sorting and treatment is economically accessible even in regions with less developed infrastructures.
Reflecting on a landmark week
Four days and a programme spanning climate action, circular economy policy, international development, digital innovation, and youth engagement: ISWA’s presence at IFAT Munich 2026 reflected both the breadth of the organisation’s work and the depth of the challenges the sector is working to address.
The conversations at IFAT connected technical solutions with policy ambitions, local experience with global frameworks, and the sector’s established leadership with its next generation of professionals.
ISWA thanks all the speakers, session participants, members, and partners who made this programme possible, and looks forward to carrying the momentum of IFAT into the months ahead!
