Second Oman Waste and Environmental Services Conference and Exhibition opens

Muscat: The second edition of Oman Waste and Environmental Services Conference and Exhibition (OWES) began at the Sheraton Hotel today under the patronage of Salim bin Said Al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs.
Oman’s biggest exhibitions and conferences organiser Omanexpo has partnered for the second time with state-owned waste management body Oman Environmental Services Holding Company (be’ah) to organise what is the only waste management and environmental event in Oman.
This year, the two-day exhibition will once again provide a beneficial trade, networking and investment platform for local and international
business professionals with 33 companies from the Sultanate, Austria, Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom showcasing various
segments, such as solid waste, waste management, energy, waste-to-energy, waste recycling, urban environmental cleaning, environmental
monitoring, consultancy, landfill operations, and more.
Of special significance is the presence of the Austrian pavilion, represented by the Austrian Economic and Commercial Delegation in
Muscat, which is featuring seven companies aiming to establish partnerships with businesses in Oman.
This comes in line with Austria’s reputation as being at the forefront of a wide range of technologies that are addressing the need to protect the environment and make it sustainable.
Success in green technologies has helped Austrian companies to develop notable worldwide reputation.
Leveraging the need to address the most critical issues and challenges in the sector, the conference presentations will revolve around recycling, waste classification, facility management, advanced and innovative technologies for waste collection, transportation, sorting and recycling, and the future of waste management in Oman.
Five experts from Austria will be presenting Austrian technologies from waste-to-energy facilities, recycling technologies and innovative waste
collection and treatment, underlining the delegation’s support to Oman’s transition to a circular economy.
Highlighting the second session of the first day is a case study from Europe about the international trends in MSW-to-energy conversion, which will be presented by Dulce Passaro, ex-minister of Environmental Affairs of Portugal. Apart from the main sessions, interactive panel sessions will focus on best industry practices in recycling and reusing, trends that are helping reshape the waste management industry, and technologies, investment and market.
Omanexpo has also taken innovative steps to add an educational and social responsibility dimension to the show by way of the Student
Innovation Lab pavilion.
The Student Innovation Lab encourages students from colleges and universities across Oman to translate their innovative ideas into projects
that are relevant to the ongoing environmental awareness campaign spearheaded by state-owned waste management body Oman
Environmental Services Holding Company (be’ah).
These projects, relating to environment protection, water conservation, waste management, waste recycling, wastewater treatment, green architecture, climate change mitigation, pollution abatement, green entrepreneurship, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability, clean manufacturing and environmental education, upon selection, will be presented to policy and decisionmakers, investors, and experts in the waste management field.
This initiative will hone local talent, and on a larger scale, pave the way in reinforcing the government’s Omanisation goal in line with its
diversification plan.
As part of its mission to help create and promote sustainable value in the environments it serves, Oman’s largest privately owned mining
group Kunooz Oman Holding has taken on a valuable role in the event by sponsoring the pavilion.