Colleen Weekes presenter at the Postgraduate Conference on Islands and Small States Studies

June

Colleen Weekes, a junior researcher and doctoral candidate within the SISSTEM programme, presented at the 1st Postgraduate Conference on Islands and Small States Studies #PostgradISSI on June 20th 2022 at the University of Malta’s Valletta Campus. This conference was successfully organized by the Islands and Small States Institute, bringing together dozens of young scholars from around the globe. Further information about this conference can be found at: https://www.um.edu.mt/newspoint/news/2022/06/islands-and-small-states-institute-organises-postgraduates-conference

Colleen’s presentation focussed on the environmental impact of Aruba’s municipal solid waste (MSW) management system and was conducted using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. When applied to this sector, LCA allows for an objective evaluation of all MSW treatment processes by quantifying depleted resources as well as emissions in order to identify operational drawbacks, hotspots and opportunities for improved sustainability. Her presentation highlighted areas which can be improved in the short term to immediately remedy the most damaging effects of the status quo, while informing future decisions for improved MSW management in Aruba.

In addition, an educational visit was kindly facilitated by the staff of WasteServ, Malta’s principal MSW management company https://www.linkedin.com/company/wasteserv-malta/, with the aim of gathering best practices for MSW management in small island states. This positively contributes to the completion of Colleen’s ongoing research which pertains to the development of an optimized sustainable MSW management system for Aruba.