For letsrecycle.com readers planning their visit, here’s everything worth building into your itinerary – from live machinery demos to the networking events that carry the conversation into the evening.
Secure your free ticket to RWM Expo 2026 here
RWM Connect: The Official Afterparty, Reimagined
Day one on the show floor doesn’t have to be where the conversation ends. RWM Connect, the new flagship networking evening run in collaboration with CIWM, takes over The VOX at Resorts World Birmingham from 19:00 on Wednesday 16 September, uniting 900+ resource-industry professionals for the resource sector’s biggest social of the year.
It brings the former ESS Connect Party and CIWM Gala Dinner together under one roof for the first time, with free beer, wine and soft drinks until 10pm, live music, casino tables, food stations and a DJ running through to carriages at midnight.
Tickets are £99+VAT per person or £900+VAT for a table of ten – and with demand expected to be high, it’s worth locking in if RWM Connect, EFD Expo or CARS is on your radar this September. Tickets available here.
Waste Processing Live: Machinery Doing the Talking
Static stands only tell half the story. Waste Processing Live, RWM’s outdoor Live Demonstration Area, brings back working shredders, balers, material handlers and sorting tech running exactly as they would on-site – not staged, not simulated.
Demonstrations run three times a day, both days: 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm. Confirmed demonstrators include JCB, Natural Engineering/Hammel, LiuGong Machinery, Global Machinery Solutions and JMC Recycling Systems, with more to be added ahead of the show. If a plant decision is on the horizon, this is where build quality and throughput get tested in real conditions rather than on a spec sheet.
RWM Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Fleet Managers
Two new features are aimed squarely at anyone with fleet investment or vehicle specification decisions to make.
Waste Trucks Live, sponsored by NRG Riverside, is the most comprehensive showcase of specialist waste vehicles ever brought to a live event – RCVs, skip and hook loaders, food waste trucks, tippers and tankers, sweepers and specialist bodies, grouped by application rather than scattered stand-to-stand. It’s a genuine one-stop-shop for comparing designs, layouts and configurations side by side.
Running alongside it, the VIP Fleet Professionals Programme, sponsored by CameraMatics, gives senior fleet decision-makers a curated visit: fast-track badge entry, complimentary on-site parking, complimentary refreshments and an invitation-only fleet networking event. Registration is simple – tick “Fleet Professional” on the standard free ticket form.
CameraMatics Networking Drinks
As part of the VIP Fleet Professionals Programme, CameraMatics is hosting an exclusive networking drinks reception for fleet professionals at the Big Red Bus Bar on day one:
- Date: Wednesday 16 September 2026
- Time: 15:00 – 16:00
- Location: Big Red Bus Bar (sponsored by Panda), Hall 17, end of the ESS Expo central aisle
Drinks are on the house – just show your Fleet Professionals badge to the bar staff. It’s a relaxed hour to unwind after the morning on the show floor and swap notes with peers facing the same renewal, specification and compliance challenges.
The Big Red Bus Bar, Sponsored by Panda
You’ll know it when you see it: a full-size red bus parked at the Hall 17 end of the ESS Expo central aisle, right by the entrance to the outside area (and the letsrecycle.com stand). Panda Recycling UK’s Big Red Bus Bar will be running for the full two days, offering cold drinks, warm welcomes and a great opportunity to talk waste strategy with the team.
Panda’s story goes well beyond the bin lorry: last year the business produced over 1.1 million tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), exported across the UK and Europe to generate heat, steam and power. Drop by to talk through how Panda turns waste into usable energy at scale, fleet and collection solutions, and what “one team, one standard” means in practice for a waste partner.
Find them at: The Big Red Bus Bar, Stand CT-F360, Collections & Transport Zone, Hall 17.
LARAC Lounge: The Local Authority Hub
Located in the heart of the Collections & Transport Zone and sponsored by PermiServ, the LARAC Lounge is the dedicated meeting point for local authority waste and recycling professionals. Expect one-to-one guidance from LARAC’s Policy Officers, complimentary tea and coffee away from the busy show floor, and the chance to meet organisations including PermiServ, Recycle Coach, FCC Environment, Lixo, Contel, Jett, Omnia Smart Technologies, Voom AI, KEO Europe and Jewel Software.
Two highlights not to miss on 16 September: a Networking Drinks Reception at 2pm, and the Garden Waste Awards, hosted by PermiServ, recognising innovation and excellence across waste and recycling services.
Recognising the Next Generation: 35 Under 35 and Future Talent Hub
RWM’s commitment to the sector’s pipeline runs through the ESS Future Talent Hub, sponsored by Grundon, over both days.
The 35 Under 35 Awards ceremony takes place at 14:00 on 16 September, revealing this year’s top 35 professionals under the age of 35 along with the Top 3 Rising Stars – the cornerstone fixture of the future talent programme.
On day two, the Environment 100 Awards run from 12:00-14:00, unveiling the 100 individuals recognised for their contribution to environmental services and sustainability across the UK, alongside a panel of 2025 alumni sharing what recognition has meant for their careers. The Hub also runs sessions on the green skills gap, diversity and inclusion, practical AI literacy, CV writing and a session with Toby Perkins MP on the policy case for green skills.
Speaker Sessions Worth Building Your Day Around
With 450+ speakers across the show’s specialist theatres, the agenda spans everything from boardroom strategy to fire safety on the yard. A few sessions RWM regulars will want to prioritise:
- Leading the UK Waste Sector: Strategy, Change and Future Direction (Wed, 10:40am, Commercial, Industrial & Hazardous Waste Theatre) – senior leadership from Biffa, Encyclis, FCC, Grundon, Suez and GunnerCooke on the priorities shaping the sector.
- Digital Waste Tracking: What You Need to Know (Wed, 10:45am, Collections & Transport Theatre) – Defra, Suez, Mitie and Wastrio on the practical reality ahead of the October 2026 mandate for permitted sites.
- The Big 5 in Collections (Wed, 12:30pm, Collections & Transport Theatre) – Biffa, FCC, Suez, Veolia and the ESA on where the UK’s largest collection operators are heading next.
- How to Convert the Pope to Introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (Wed, 12:10pm, Circular Economy & Sustainability Theatre) – Merijn Tinga, the Plastic Soup Surfer, on his solo windsurf campaign for DRS across Europe.
- DRS – One Year to Go (Thu, 10:40am, Packaging & EPR Theatre) – Biffa, Alupro, Coca-Cola European Partners, the ESA and Tomra assess readiness as the UK scheme approaches implementation.
- A 10-Point Plan for Tackling Waste Crime (Wed, 12:30pm, Construction & Demolition Theatre) – a six-month update from the Environment Agency on Operation Unite and the forthcoming Operational Waste Intelligence and Analysis Unit.
- Interventions to Prevent Battery-Related Fires Across the Waste Sector (Wed, 3:45pm, Collections & Transport Theatre) – a timely look at detection, handling and storage as lithium-ion incidents continue to rise.
The full theatre-by-theatre timetable is available via the ESS Expo event app, which also lets you favourite sessions and book exhibitor meetings ahead of arrival.
Key Exhibitors to Seek Out
Beyond the theatres, the show floor is where the deals and demos happen. A handful of names worth a detour:
- Bollegraaf Group (Stand ME-D200) – launching Bollegraaf ONE, a modular digital platform connecting equipment and sensors across a recycling facility, moving plants from reactive fixes to predictive, data-driven operation.
- Dennis Eagle / Terberg Matec UK (Stand CT-G320) – debuting CrewSense AI, an operational behaviour camera system for RCV crews, alongside the new ORUS 11 HD, a market-leading 7,800kg payload satellite RCV built for organic waste collections.
- Eldan Recycling (Stand ME-A234) – marking 70 years in recycling equipment with tyre, cable, e-waste and aluminium processing lines on display.
- Natural Engineering / Hammel (Stand ME-A240) – showcasing the HAMMEL VB950 DK “Red Giant” on the stand, with a VB750 DK running live in the Demonstration Area.
- CK Lyndex (Stand ME-B274) – the newly combined CK International and Lyndex portfolio, spanning Twin Ram Balers, Channel Balers and Waste Compactors.
- Vanden Recycling (Stand RS-C182) – talking through how DRS, Simpler Recycling and PRN/PERN reform are reshaping evidence and traceability requirements for recycled plastics supply chains.
- letsrecycle.com (Stand CT-E360 – right next to the Big Red Bus Bar) – and of course, do come and say hello to the team behind the UK’s leading independent news platform for recycling and waste management.
Plan Your Visit
With live machinery, fleet-focused programming, headline networking and a packed speaker agenda, RWM Expo is the one show where the whole resource and waste sector shows up in one room.
Secure your free ticket now and start planning your visit today.
Register for free to comment