ISWA President James Law : Being the voice of waste management

It is an honour to be penning my first President’s Message for Waste Management World. I want to start by expressing my gratitude to ISWA’s members for their trust and confidence in bestowing this honour on me. I am humbled yet enthusiastic to hold the title of ISWA President and look forward to leading and representing our excellent Association going forward.

ISWA has gone from win to win over the past few years, under the fantastic leadership of my predecessor, Carlos Silva Filho. It is no secret that I have big boots to fill and I have enjoyed watching ISWA evolve and grow during his term. Serving alongside him on the Board gave us the opportunity to collaborate and serve well alongside each other, and I hope to carry the torch he kept so well-lit for our Association.

Having been an active member of ISWA since 2008, I have my experience in different capacities at ISWA to lean on as a foundation for what I hope to achieve as President. I believe that ISWA’s mission should align with its core values and the needs of its members. By addressing global challenges, fostering collaboration and providing value to members, ISWA can increase its influence and attract a diverse membership base. Our mission is to ensure a better quality of life globally by combining efforts from different stakeholders (private and public sectors, academia, financing institutions, NGOs) for waste and resource management. This means we must serve and act as the hub for information, innovative research, knowledge exchange and integration to support the transition to a circular economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the waste sector. I also believe that our vision for ISWA should be based on its local context, environmental concerns and community needs.

On 19 November, during the second week of COP29, I had both the honour and privilege to address an audience of high-level national and organisational representatives at the launch of the COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, a critical issue at the centre of climate action, sustainable development and human well-being. ISWA welcomes this significant declaration as it is a compelling call to governments, businesses and civil society on the urgency to act now and the need to work together to turn waste into opportunity, pollution into progress, and methane reduction into a tangible climate victory.

As I settle into this incredible role and this inspiring organisation, I will continue listening to, learning from and collaborating with our members from all corners of the world, to bring the voice of the waste and resource management sector to relevant global stages whilst building capacity within our extensive community of learned experts and passionate change-makers.