ORBIT 2016 “Circular Economy and Organic Waste Management”
As the circular economy is moving higher and higher up the scientific, technical, political and business
agenda, the organic waste sector is becoming more focused on the management and recovery of resources.
Recently the European Commission presented its new Circular Economy strategy, which
will “transform Europe into a more competitive resource-efficient economy, addressing a range of economic
factors, including waste”. Implementing circular opportunities at a global scale will lead to material
savings and generation of new jobs in both developed and developing countries.
Fully aligned with this shift in the waste management Paradigm, Harokopio University together with
Technological Education Institute of Crete and the European Compost Network (ECN) have organised
the International Conference ORBIT 2016 “Circular Economy and Organic Waste Management”, under
the auspices of the Hellenic Recycling Agency and the Municipality of Hersonissos. The Conference
is also co-organised by the United Association for Solid Waste Management of Crete (ESDAK) and
the Solid Waste Management Authority of Voria Pediada, and it is supported by ECOREC and the
Hellenic Association of Composters.
Following the tradition of its predecessors, the 10th ORBIT Conference will tackle all aspects of management
and recovery of organic residues – from waste prevention and decoupling organic waste
generation to beneficial recycling of compost and digestate into soil and energy recovery as methane
and hydrogen. The “traditional” themes of composting and anaerobic digestion – processes, technologies,
product quality, and the role of organic matter in combating desertification – remain the core
topics. In addition, ORBIT 2016 will tackle issues related to sustainable resources management in
the context of waste management, effective separate collection of biowaste, as well as the impact of
economic crisis on waste generation and management. A particular focus will be on food waste generation,
prevention and management, highlighting the geographical aspects of the issue, as good
practices to tackle the food waste problem need to be adapted to meet specific regional conditions.
To go further and better investigate the potential of circular economy we have introduce new issues,
such as smart cities biowaste management applications and novel products from organic waste. Overall,
the Conference highlights the need to develop collaborations between different disciplines, which
would not routinely interact with one another.
The Conference will present high quality, innovative research on all the aforementioned topics, as
well as pilot-plant and full-scale experiences and workshops for securing research funding, including
a special session on the EU LIFE Programme. Selected, high quality papers will be published in Special
Issues of the journals Waste Management and Research, Waste and Resource Management of
ICE and the Global Nest Journal.
ORBIT 2016 aspires to provide a major scientific forum to cover the latest research findings and policy
developments regarding both material and energy recovery from organic waste and residues. We are
pleased to welcome you to ORBIT 2016, which we fully expect to be an outstanding scientific event,
with many stimulating discussions and excellent networking opportunities.
