International Waste Management Trade Show Reports Results

Brook Raflo

Already common in America, public-private partnerships in the waste industry are becoming a trend in Germany and in other parts of the world, according to an independently conducted survey of Entsorga 2000 trade show-goers.

Visitors to the Cologne, Germany-based trade show also said that they are watching business prospects with cautious optimism, in light of improving markets and an increase in the amount of waste produced.

The ninth Entsorga trade show brought 60,000 waste industry professionals to its aisles this past June, living up to its self-proclaimed title, "International Trade Fair for Recycling and Waste Disposal." Twenty-one percent of the show's 1,348 exhibitors were foreign, and visitors traveled from 86 countries, according to show management. The majority of visitors were from the private sector, but nearly a quarter represented public authorities.

As part of its educational program, Entsorga offered an international support seminar called "know-how transfer," to give advice on waste management to eastern and central European countries seeking admission to the European Community, as well as to countries with future market potential, according to Ranier Perry, marketing manager for the show. Participants also learned that "recycling technology has reached such a high level of sophistication that a 99.99 percent separation of different waste materials can be achieved," Perry says.

Entsorga is the largest solid waste management show in the world. Since 1991, the number of Entsorga visitors has increased by 20 percent, and the number of exhibitors has increased by more than one third. The next Entsorga will take place Sept. 23 through Sept. 26, 2003, in Cologne.