Introduction

The International Conference on Waste Management and the Environment is organised every two years by the Wessex Institute of Technology in collaboration with other renown institutions. This sixth conference follows the success of previous meetings held in Cádiz (2002), Rhodes (2004), Malta (2006), Granada (2008) and Tallinn (2010).

Waste management is becoming one of the key problems of the modern world, an issue that is intensified by the volume and complexity of waste discarded by society's domestic and industrial activities. Unfortunately, many of the practices adopted in the past were aimed at short-term solutions without sufficient regard or knowledge for long term implications on health, the environment or sustainability and this, in many cases, leads to the need to take difficult and expensive remedial action.

With our growing awareness of the detrimental environmental effects of current waste disposal, there is a significant onus of accountability for effective waste management. Better practice and safer solutions are required. Not only is there a need for more research on current disposal methods such as landfill, incineration, chemical and effluent treatment, but also on recycling, waste minimization, clean technologies, waste monitoring, public and corporate awareness, and general education.

Waste Management 2012 will provide a forum for the discussion of the most advanced research and applications in this field. It will be of interest to researchers and practitioners from industry and governmental organisations involved with the management, treatment and impact of waste on the environment and society as a whole.