What is the RWM Exhibition?
The RWM is an exhibition, in partnership with the CIWM, dedicated to the waste, recycling, water, and energy sectors. It’s an annual event, held at the Birmingham NEC, and showcases the latest and greatest from the marketplace.
The RWM Exhibition welcomes over 11,000 visitors from UK and International companies alike, spanning local government organisations, leisure, retail, manufacturing, construction and demolition.
Their mission statement is: “To build a community for a resource-efficient future.”
“We connect innovators and influencers with businesses, public sector bodies, governments and not-for-profits to deliver solutions that are both environmentally sound and profitable. We do this because we want to play our part in One Planet Living.”
Here at Agile, we also want to play our part in One Planet Living, so we decided to take a trip to Birmingham to join in the conversations around building a more sustainable future and creating a more circular economy.
Our key takeaways from the 2017 RWM Exhibition
We sent four of our biggest waste and recycling enthusiasts along to this year’s RWM Exhibition; these were their key takeaways from the event:
Lisa Hall, Product Consultant and Waste Guru, said: “A highlight for me was that many of the talks and seminars were geared towards the innovations in technology and how they can be utilised for the waste sector.
This demonstrated how the sector is shifting: from smart bins, to the use of dynamic route optimisation, technology will be used more and more to make efficiencies, aid with reductions to public sector budgets, and improve communications and services for citizens.”
Lisa added: “Also, a key takeaway was that the collaboration between public and private sector needs to improve and will likely feature in the future, as well as looking globally for solutions to manage waste.”
Tristan Lomas, Assistant Director and Recycling Newb, commented: “I’m fairly new to this industry, so it was a real eye-opener attending the RWM and seeing the vast array of exhibitors. Getting up close and personal with the machinery and technology was really fascinating.
It was great to hear the thoughts of others on how the industry needs to progress and I look forward to seeing these thoughts and ideas transpire into reality.”
Jared Crane, Assistant Director and Waste Novice, commented: “The highlight for me was the healthy and entertaining debate on private vs. public when it comes to trade waste; it is clear co-operation in this marketplace is not strong and it is rare that they even discuss the differences they have. A platform to look into this proved very educational as well as, as I say, entertaining viewing, and I think that we will have great opportunities in this space in due course.”
Lianne Jones, Digital Marketing Consultant and Recycling Nerd, said: “I was really excited to attend the Exhibition and it definitely didn’t disappoint. One day just didn’t feel enough to take in everything that was going on and soak up all the knowledge – I’ll definitely be going for longer next time!”
Lianne continues: “I was quite in awe of some of the technology on show at the RWM; working in the industry that I do, I was aware of many technological advancements for the waste sector, some of which we’re working on, but I suppose I naively had no idea of the sheer scale and expanse of technology for this marketplace. It was wonderful to see the solutions being provided from various angles.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the talks – specifically those focused on reducing food waste and boosting recycling rates in busy cities, as these are subjects I’m pretty passionate about. There was a lot of positivity around increasing recycling and reducing unnecessary waste being sent to landfill, which was just fantastic to hear.”
Utilising technology to boost recycling rates
The 2017 RWM Exhibition has left us feeling revitalised about the future of waste and recycling – we want to do our bit to help improve recycling rates and reduce what’s sent to landfill.
Our @HOME app supports councils as they try to boost recycling rates in their area – our app makes communicating key waste and recycling messages with residents simple and cost effective. @HOME simplifies recycling for residents too – highlighting what can and cannot be recycled, and which bins they should use, as well as acting as a collection day reminder.
You can download the @HOME app for free from iTunes or the Play Store – if you want to find out more about our recycling app and the other waste solutions we have available, please get in touch.