Extensive Lineup for WasteMET Asia Symposium 2017 : WasteMET Asia Expands and adds Inter-Trade Collaboration

The Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) is preparing to welcome guests and delegates to the 4th edition of its WasteMET Asia Symposium (WMAS).

Themed REINVENT: Transform the Industry, the event opens its doors on 19 October 2017 at MAX Atria @ Singapore EXPO venue.

Organised by WMRAS and SingEx Exhibitions, this year’s event will see seven Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to identify individual industry challenges and develop joint projects and solutions for the benefit of their member-companies as well as to promote the business prospects of their respective sectors and contribute to a more sustainable living environment.

The TACs taking part in the signing ceremony for the MOU on inter-TAC collaboration on the morning of 19 October are (in alphabetical order):

Association of Property and Facilities Managers [APFM]

Container Depot and Logistics Association (Singapore) [CDAS]

Landscape Industry Association of Singapore [LIAS]

Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association [SFMA]

Singapore Industrial Automation Association [SIAA]

Singapore infocomm Technology Federation [SiTF]

Singapore Water Association [SWA]

Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore [WMRAS] (Lead TAC)

Gracing the occasion will be Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and Ministry of Health.

Accompanying Dr Khor, who is also WMRAS’ Advisor, to witness the signing of the MOU by the TAC presidents/chairmen or their senior council members, will be Mr Ronnie Tay, CEO of the National Environment Agency (NEA), Ms Chew Mok Lee, Assistant Chief Executive, Capabilities & Partnership of SPRING Singapore and Mr Charles Ho Nai Chuen, Vice-President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).

Internet-of-Things and Excellence Awards

Besides the signing of the MOU on inter-TAC collaboration and the conference proper, this year’s 2-day event will have around 20 exhibitors showcasing IoT solutions and robotics in response to the existing labour crunch and the need to reinvent business models to increase productivity.

Key speakers at the symposium will come from Microsoft, Tata Communications, Volvo Trucks and Hyundai Autoever.

Finally, in the evening of 19 October, Guest-of-Honour, Dr Khor will present the WMRAS Excellence Awards to recognise and reward 10 individual “Unsung Heroes” and corporate winners from the waste management and recycling industry. The awards are made for excelling in their frontline operations work, contributing to environmental sustainability and promoting safety and health in the work environment.

Education Education Education

Dr Khor will also be presenting certificates to the graduates of WMRAS Academy’s 1st Professional Course in Waste Management & Resource Recovery for PMETs, developed and delivered in collaboration with Griffith University of Queensland, Australia.

Prior to this course, WMRAS Academy only developed and conducted Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses for frontline operations workers.

However, in response to the industry’s need for training to allow PMETs working in the waste management and recycling sector to upgrade their skills and knowledge and promote their career prospects, as well as to professionalise the industry and attract more Singaporeans to join its PMET ranks, the new course was developed.

From May to August this year, Griffith lecturers were flown into Singapore to impart their environmental studies knowledge and practices from an international and Australian perspective to 17 PMET-course participants from 11 local waste management and recycling companies.

To provide the students with a more holistic view of how waste and recycling businesses are managed, WMRAS Academy also organised a number of sharing sessions with industry practitioners and took them on a couple of field trips.

Ms Melissa Tan, PBM, Chairman of WMRAS commented “SMEs faced with a limited local market coupled with manpower and space constraints must think out of the box, especially in these economically challenging times. We have to find new, innovative ways to run and grow our businesses; reinvent and transform our industries.

“WMAS 2017 exemplifies the growing need for waste management and recycling companies to adopt digital technologies in order to achieve sustainable growth and yet optimise productivity and deliver more to their clients with end-to-end solutions.

“This was also the motivating factor for WMRAS to take the lead to initiate the collaborative arrangement with the other TACs. With each TAC’s openness, commitment and most importantly, a positive “can-do” spirit, and with the support of SPRING, NEA and SCCCI; I’m confident that our MOU will result in joint projects that will bring benefits to our respective member-businesses and upgrade our industries.”

Mr Adrian Sng, General Manager of SingEx Exhibitions added: “Digitalisation and technology are continuously disrupting industries and communities at large; we are seeing a paradigm shift in the waste management industry to reinvent businesses with the introduction of new technology in the Asian marketplace.

We are excited to once again work with WMRAS in providing an all-encompassing and borderless platform for businesses, government, academia and associations to connect and explore business opportunities across Asia.”

For more information, please visit: www.wmras.org.sg

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