Education is Key for a Sound Waste Management System Implementation

On 4 December 2017, RETech has visited the University of Rostock, one of the oldest universities and among the ten most founder-friendly higher education establishments in Germany. Students from 99 countries can be found on the four campus locations in the city.

One of the most active members in the RETech network, the University of Rostock encompasses nine faculties, among which is the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. RETech has visited the laboratory facility so as to get a glimpse on the research work which falls under the faculty’s thrive to contribute into bettering the waste management condition, notably with regards to bio-energy production. Dr Abdallah Nassour, chair of Waste and Material Flow Management at the University, has also provided an overview on projects implemented/ under implementation in the MENA region, in addition to the graduate programs tackling waste management which are being introduced in the respective countries. Among those is a cooperation between German universities (Dresden University of Technology, University of Rostock and Hamburg University of Technology) and Jordanian universities (Mutah University, University of Jordan, Jordan University of Science and Technology, German-Jordanian University), in the aim of promoting sustainable waste management through capacity building, as well as of developing the ability to analyze recyclables for further reuse. On a different note, a one-of-its kind master degree specialized in waste management has been recently implemented in two universities in Algeria: University of Blida and Constantine University, with material, research and professorship support from the University of Rostock. This comes in an effort to shed the light on the importance of education to ensure a well- sound and structured waste management system flow, as well as of knowledge sharing in order to find the most suitable solutions for waste disposal within a given environment.