The waste and recycling sector faces significant challenges. From batteries setting fire to waste management companies and lorry fleets to stricter rules on the export of plastic waste: at Solids, Denuo brings companies together to discuss these issues.
This year, the Belgian employers’ federation for private waste management and recycling companies will be attending the Solids trade fair for the first time. Denuo is organising a basic training course and two specialist seminars there, but its main aim is to encourage a lively exchange of ideas.
The organisation represents more than 200 members. There is a great deal of diversity within the federation: 80 per cent of its members are SMEs, and their activities range from landfill and incineration to recycling and reuse.
Denuo’s work centres on three ‘V’s: uniting, representing and empowering. “We bring companies together to exchange knowledge and network, but also to represent them in dealings with policymakers,” explains Maarten Geerts, Communications Manager at Denuo. “In addition, we aim to empower our members with information and contacts that help them move forward.”
Where the sector comes together
At Solids, Denuo brings these three roles together. “The trade fair offers us an opportunity to meet existing members in a different setting, get to know potential members and establish contacts with partners who offer interesting products and services for the sector,” says Maarten.
A trade fair offers an interesting platform for networking, but it is just as much about substantive issues. One of the most pressing issues is the growing number of battery fires. More and more products contain lithium-ion batteries, but these are by no means always disposed of in the correct waste stream. Maarten: “Batteries turn up absolutely everywhere: in metal and paper waste, but also in textile and paper bins. Just think of shoes with lights or greeting cards that play music. If such a battery comes under pressure, it can catch fire. That poses a serious safety risk to our sector.”
Denuo therefore advocates, amongst other things, greater public awareness, products from which batteries can be removed more easily, and financial incentives for proper collection. “A deposit-refund scheme or a return bonus could encourage people to return batteries properly,” he says.
From the classroom to the workplace
During Solids, Denuo will also be presenting a number of in-depth reports on the exhibition floor. On Wednesday, the federation is organising a basic training course for newcomers to the sector. “Participants will spend a whole day immersing themselves in the key legislation, key stakeholders and the workings of the waste management and recycling sector. I’d highly recommend it,” says Maarten.
Two seminars will take place on Thursday. The first panel discussion will focus on circular concrete and the question of how construction waste can be reused as a raw material. “This is no small issue: 42 per cent of all waste produced in Belgium – amounting to some 26 million tonnes – is construction waste.” A second panel discussion will address the stricter rules governing the export of plastic waste.
“New regulations can have a major impact on the day-to-day running of businesses,” says Maarten. “We don’t just want to explain what’s changing, but above all to discuss what that means in practice.”
For Denuo, Solids is therefore more than just a place to tell its own story. “Of course, we hope to attract as many people as possible to our training courses and seminars, but above all to our stand. Existing members, companies that don’t yet know us and future partners: we want to talk to as many people as possible and hear what’s going on in the sector today,” concludes Maarten.
Solids 2026 will take place on 22 and 23 September at Flanders Expo in Ghent. Registration is free and can be done here.