Futuresource and RWM exhibitions to combine

The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and the Environmental Services Association (ESA), the organisers of Futuresource, and Emap, the organisers of RWM, are joining forces to hold their first event on September 13-15 2011 at Birmingham's NEC.

Futuresource 2011 will not take place at ExCeL in June and exhibitors will be invited to transfer their space to the new combined event. Details of the transfer plan will be made available to all Futuresource customers in early January. The joint team will then talk to customers and a series of road shows will be organised for the spring.

Going forward, CIWM claimed it would continue to play an ‘integral role' in influencing the shape, content and direction of the event through the joint event advisory board. It said it would also have a high profile presence at the show and would make a ‘significant contribution' to the marketing and promotion in 2011 and beyond.

Futuresource 2010 attracted over 300 exhibitors and 100 speakers and overall attendance was 7,930. RWM attracts over 500 exhibitors and 9,500 visitors.

CIWM chief executive Steve Lee told letsrecycle.com that for years industry had been calling for a single major exhibition for the waste sector and that the economic climate had made now the right time to make the move. He also said the merger would enable the exhibition to compete internationally.

Commenting on the merger, he said: “As the industry's professional body, CIWM's aim has always been to deliver a premier event for our sector and we believe we have reached an arrangement that will satisfy the needs of our customers and CIWM members. We plan to be very involved in the future of the joint exhibition and look forward to working with Emap to deliver a world class event.”

CIWM will be taking a share of the profits from the event, which is seen as important to the organisation as the Futuresource and its predecessor show in Torbay provide provide an significant allocation of income to the Institution.

Speaking for ESA, its chairman Ian Goodfellow said: “We congratulate both CIWM and Emap in bringing together this new joint exhibition. We believe it will serve the domestic and international needs of this industry well, and we look forwards to giving it our whole-hearted support.”