Spotlight on the ISWA YPG UK & Ireland Regional Chapter members.
Amani Maalouf
Senior Researcher at University of Oxford
Hey everyone, I am Dr Amani Maalouf! I am a Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford, where I lead waste management research. I hold a PhD in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and am also an Honorary Research Associate at Columbia University, USA.
With over a decade of experience, I have worked on international waste management and circular economy projects across Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, collaborating with institutions like the World Bank, UNEP, UNDP, EIB, and the European Commission.
Within ISWA, I serve as Chair of the Research & Innovation Working Group and have been the Organiser and Chair of the ISWA YPG International Online Conference series for five consecutive years (2021–2025). This conference has grown into a key platform for young professionals in waste management, featuring expert discussions, technical sessions, and global networking opportunities.
Excited to connect with like-minded professionals passionate about sustainability, waste management, and climate action!
I currently work as a Waste and Resource Management Consultant at Mott MacDonald, delivering waste management strategies and circular economy roadmaps for development and infrastructure projects in the UK and internationally. I also contribute to global healthcare waste management initiatives.
I hold an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and have a broader sustainability background built through previous academic studies and internships with utilities and intergovernmental organisations.
I am passionate about building a circular future where resources are sustainably produced and consumed throughout their life cycle, and where waste is managed as a valuable resource.
Amelia Luk
Waste and Resource Management Consultant at Mott MacDonald
If I had to trace it back, my first real encounter with waste issues was in primary school during a visit to a landfill in Hong Kong, where I was born and raised and which is known as one of the world’s highest waste-generating cities per capita. Learning about the saturation of landfill sites sparked my curiosity about how these challenges could be addressed. This early awareness shaped my academic path, leading me to study geography and sustainability-related subjects for my Bachelor’s and MSc degrees. During my MSc, I became particularly drawn to the concept of the circular economy and explored the environmental benefits of Product-as-a-Service models through Life Cycle Assessment in my independent thesis. This experience laid the foundation and opened the door to developing my professional career in the waste and recycling industry.
To me, waste management is about both upstream waste prevention and downstream waste treatment. Designing out waste and reducing it at the source is just as important as managing waste generated sustainably.
Changes also go beyond individual actions and behaviours; they require systematic change, from policies that incentivise sustainable choices to business models that make sustainable waste management and circular practices accessible and attractive.
Dean Murray
Market Research & Marketing Manager at Envetec Sustainable Technologies
I’m Dean Murray, Market Research & Marketing Manager at Envetec Sustainable Technologies. My academic foundation is in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Science from Technological University Dublin, followed by a Master’s in Communications from DCU. After beginning my career in communications and analytics, consulting for global companies such as Merck and Berkshire Hathaway, I moved into market research and corporate strategy development. In 2022, I joined Envetec Sustainable Technologies, an Irish cleantech company dedicated to unlocking a circular economy for lab and healthcare waste. I’m also a My Green Lab Ambassador and an Accredited Professional in Laboratory Waste, with a particular focus on circular economy solutions for the life sciences sector.
I’ve always been driven by the intersection of science and systems change. Spending hours a week in a lab I was acutely aware of waste, particularly biohazardous and single-use laboratory waste, and being passionate about sustainability, I realised it represents a blind spot in sustainability conversations. This material is often incinerated or landfilled, even when high-value polymers are involved. That contradiction sparked my interest. Why are some of the most advanced industries still reliant on outdated, linear waste treatment models? I joined Envetec to help change that. Our goal is to enable a circular economy where biohazardous waste is treated safely and sustainably onsite, without heat and then recycled into new, high-value materials.
A common opinion but an important one, the path to a sustainable future requires more than good intentions, it needs viable infrastructure, measurable outcomes, and cross-economy investment. In healthcare and life sciences, safety rightly comes first, but that shouldn’t exclude innovation. Technologies like our GENERATIONS are proving that by embracing innovation we can enable sustainable systems without sacrificing profit or safety. If we’re serious about the journey to net zero, difficult to address materials such as biohazardous waste can no longer be an afterthought. They must become part of the circular economy.
I fell into working in the waste (or resource) management sector when studying for my Engineering degree.
All I knew then was that I was – and still am – driven to reduce our impact on the natural environment, so I wanted to work in an area that could achieve this, and that meant I would not be chained to a desk!
Whilst attending a Women-in-STEM event, I met someone who would become my future manager, encouraging me to apply for a job in her team. Before this chance meeting, I had neither considered the hidden world of discarded materials nor that I would find it so fascinating.
I have not looked back since.
Amy Bloom
Technical Plant Engineer, SUEZ
Although my first role was in contract management and not related directly to my degree, I learnt so much about day-to-day challenges and requirements for the management of materials (including different types of bins!). However, my technical background helped me support these industrial customers to develop projects to move their waste up the hierarchy. From this, I began to learn about different types of waste; it was my first foray into the idea that waste is a resource in the wrong place.
An opportunity then arose to support an anaerobic digestion plant in its commissioning stage on an 18-month term as an engineer; it was great to get on-site and get my hands dirty again! It was here that I met the Suez UK Technical Team and at the end of the 18 months, I joined them as an engineer in their process development team. This role has taken me across the UK from Teeside to Cornwall, primarily supporting the EfW infrastructure. In this role, I support sites to operate more efficiently and sustainably.
Reflecting on the last seven years has reminded me of the breadth of opportunities I have experienced and the things I have learnt. It has been an exciting journey for me so far, and I am certain it will continue to be so. There is so much change coming too, that I am sure that the next seven will be different again.
I am most excited by the emergence of the circular economy and the idea that waste from one process is an input for the next; collaboration with those outside of our sector will be key to designing items that are able to be repaired. To achieve the changes, though, it is important that we create an inclusive and inviting working environment for others to join to ensure the sector can meet the needs to achieve net-zero. This is one of the reasons the Early Careers President Team for CIWM was created, and we are excited to collaborate with ISWA!
Noel Howel
Senior Consultant in Sustainable Products Packaging & Circularity - Waste Reduction
In 2024, I joined ISWA as a young professional member and by 2025, along with a group of other early-career professionals, we started ISWA’s first UK and Ireland young professionals network with the aim of building a platform for other professionals to learn about the world of waste, recycling, and sustainability!
I have worked as a consultant in waste management for Ricardo plc and Anthesis Group. Since starting my career in 2021, I’ve worked with local authorities in the UK to improve their household waste collection systems, worked alongside global retailers to reduce food loss and waste in their operations, and supported developing countries by building climate action plans.
Environmental sustainability is new, so we’re just at the start of a long and interesting adventure to bring about more control of our resources. However, waste is not new, and we’re now facing the challenge of combining waste with sustainability. So from my point of view, we’re in the most interesting industry as waste and recycling touches on so many dynamics like pollution of cities and marine environments, food insecurity in developing countries, and above all – the question of which bin am I putting out on Mondays.
Whilst there is a growing understanding of the importance of preventing waste, reducing our consumption, and reusing more, little seems to be changing in consumer habits. There seems to be a huge gulf between those consuming … and those having to deal with the management of the waste produced from this … the worst case scenario being those in developing countries living by sites overloaded with plastic waste.
The key areas that need to be addressed in the coming years that would reduce inequalities and global greenhouse gas emissions are waste from food, textile, and plastic packaging. However, it remains to be seen if major players in the private sector are willing to take truly impactful actions to be part of the solution.
Easy access to education has always been my passion, so I’ve joined this chapter to create a space for other early careers professionals or students to learn and share about new innovations in the industry. The world of waste professionals is small but growing so this network is the start of something great!
It’s also nice to cut down the barbed wire between industry competitors and just chat with other people passionate about the work we do. Waste management in the UK and Ireland follows market innovations and this chapter will be an effective way to hear about new developments in waste and recycling collection and treatment technologies.
Like many people, I didn’t set out to join the resource and waste sector, in fact, I wasn’t really aware it existed. Growing up, waste just seemed to disappear, and I never questioned where it went or what happened next, although saying this my parents have also been very good at encouraging repair and reuse. That all changed during my time studying Physical Geography at the University of Leeds. As my degree progressed, so did my passion for the environment. Lectures often ended with stark reminders of the climate crisis, and I began to make lifestyle changes like sourcing plastic food, visiting refill shops, and only shopping second-hand for clothing and furniture.
Charlotte Davies
Senior Consultant Resource Efficiency and Circularity, Beyondly
My path into the sector happened by complete accident. A friend recommended a role at Beyondly, and I joined as a Packaging Account Manager, which involved supporting businesses to meet their Packaging and Packaging Waste obligations. That is where the world of materials, sorting, and recycling truly opened up for me. What started as an interest in packaging quickly expanded to broader resource streams – much to the dismay of my housemates, who found our kitchen slowly filling with separate collections for batteries, vapes, and pill packets and films and flexibles.
When an opportunity arose to join Beyondly’s Resource Efficiency team, I jumped at the chance. Since then, I’ve grown into a role that blends compliance with consultancy. I help businesses navigate the complexities of packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT), and beyond, while also supporting them to make data-led decisions through product carbon footprints and life cycle assessments (LCAs).
LCAs have become a particular area of interest, and one of my proudest achievements to date was building a model for a timber product that captured the nuances of carbon absorption and release throughout its life. But with LCA,s there is always more to learn! A major challenge recently was supporting an EU project focused on circular economy initiatives within cities. It involved developing an AI-enabled platform for city engagement, pushing me out of my comfort zone, but also showing me how interconnected circular economy thinking truly is.
I love helping businesses make sense of a sector that can feel overwhelming, especially as policies and regulations evolve rapidly. My interests increasingly lie in waste prevention, reuse, and advancing up the waste hierarchy. I’m also a big believer in the role this sector plays in combating climate change, which led me to become more active with CIWM (Chartered Institution of Waste Management).
After meaning to join for ages, the launch of the CIWM Early Careers Team gave me the nudge I needed. I applied and was shocked (but thrilled) to be selected as the Early Careers President! Now I work alongside an amazing team of ambassadors, focused on embedding early-career voices into CIWM’s work, from specialist expert groups to external webinars and podcasts. We are also championing outreach to schools, universities, and alternative routes into the sector.
This industry performs daily miracles, often unnoticed, and I’m passionate about raising its profile in the wider climate conversation. My next goal is to support more impact-led projects with local authorities and charities, and when I hit my four-year milestone, to become a Chartered Waste Manager.
If you’re up for a good waste chat, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn!
With a strong foundation in environmental science and sustainability, I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), focusing on circular economy strategies, particularly the end-of-waste criteria in reusing Anaerobic Digestate Biochar in concrete manufacturing. My research aims to valorise agricultural waste, reduce environmental pollution, and decarbonise the construction sector by developing local solutions that can reduce the UK’s dependency on global material imports. Through successful industrial trials and collaborations with agencies like CASE, AFBI, and major cement industries in the British Isles, I’ve been able to translate my academic findings into high-impact environmental applications.
Sadish Oumabady
My professional journey has always been rooted in waste valorisation and sustainability, and I have been working in waste management since my master’s research. During my doctoral research, supported by a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship, I explored applications of agro-waste in energy production, nutrient recovery, and carbon sequestration. This helped me to present a waste management strategy to the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, in 2023, and I was awarded recognition from the Head of the Government. I have authored over a dozen peer-reviewed papers and contributed to cross-collaborative case studies, such as those featured in Circular Online (2025), demonstrating my ability to bridge academic excellence with real-world impact.
Beyond laboratory research, I am deeply committed to leadership, collaboration, and professional development in the sustainability space. I currently lead a circular economy cohort of fellow Commonwealth scholars, mentoring emerging researchers and advocating for effective waste management strategies. As an Early Career Ambassador for the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), I actively inspire and support early-career professionals, promote innovation, and contribute to professional forums. My interest in waste, recycling, and sustainability is not only academic or professional—it is a personal mission to create systems that value resources, minimise hazard, and empower communities. From participatory rural research with farmers to developing practical guidelines for stakeholders, I aim to facilitate inclusive development and drive tangible change. I also promote a safe and responsible research culture by mentoring students in best laboratory practices and maintaining high safety standards.
Joining the ISWA Young Professionals Group aligns perfectly with my goals. I view it as a platform to expand my global network, contribute innovative ideas, and collaborate on international sustainability challenges. Through ISWA, I aim to amplify the reach of my work, exchange knowledge with like-minded professionals, and continue influencing policy and practice in sustainable waste management. This group will empower me to not only grow as a leader but also to help shape the future of the global waste and resource management sector.
