The concentrated resource and recycling industry met on March 9-10, 2023 for the 12th DGAW Science Congress on Waste and Resource Management at the TU Hamburg.

20 lectures / 50 poster presentations / networking

Young researchers and business representatives met this year in Hamburg at the Institute CREM of the Technical University for an intensive professional exchange. The hosts were Prof. Dr. Kerstin Kuchta and Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Siechau. The response was great: the DGAW recorded a record number of visitors this year, which shows that face-to-face events are still very important. The attractive supporting programme organized by Stadtreinigung Hamburg and the exciting evening before the event were also reasons to attend the congress. The two days of the congress covered a broad spectrum of the circular economy with presentations on recycling, the circular economy, construction, thermics and biological waste treatment.

Numerous company representatives from various segments of the circular economy used the congress for trend scouting and to make contact with potential young talent. The important dialog between science and business is the explicit aim of the DGAW Science Congress and has been further developed in recent years through new formats and an increasing number of exhibitors in the congress forum.

A jury of experts selected the presentation by Mr.Matthias Schnell (RWTH Aachen) entitled Thermal sewage sludge treatment at decentralized sites - trial operation of a vortex furnace as the best presentation and presented him with the coveted DGAW Science Award of EUR 1,500. Ms. Selina Nieß (DBFZ-Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum / TU Berlin) was awarded second place with EUR 1,000 and third place with EUR 500 was awarded to Mr. Fabian Roemer ( RWTH Aachen) .

The 50 poster exhibitors presented their research topics in short pitches and were also available for discussions with the other participants in the poster gallery. The expert jury selected the poster by Mr. Philipp Witkabel (TU Dresden) with the title: Influence of an in-situ methanation of H2 on the microbial composition and CH4 formation in a flatbed methane step as the best work. This year's winner can look forward to receiving EUR 600.

With her guest lecture "The path to climate neutrality in municipal waste management - all a question of definition?", Jessica Wilhelm from Stadtreinigung Hamburg used current projects to show how municipal waste management companies in particular can contribute to climate protection and rounded off the program in an exciting way.

We would like to thank all sponsors for their support of this unique event for young scientists!

The congress in the press: Review of the event in the trade journal Müll und Abfall issue 4/2023

You can find the program flyer here.

About the congress:

The congress sees itself as a platform on which the latest results of university and university-related research in the field of waste and resource management from completed master's theses and current, advanced or recently completed dissertations are presented to the specialist public. The organizer thus specifically addresses young scientists and asks them to submit relevant contributions for a lecture or poster. In this way, the congress serves the scientific exchange, but also the practitioners who want to get an idea of the state of science and future developments. This also supports and promotes networking .