Margaret Bates becomes waste Professor

In her new role, Professor Bates will continue to spearhead efforts to improve recycling of electronic waste in Africa, and has pledged to use the increased prestige that her role affords her to help attract funding for students looking to specialise in waste.

She said: I am going to be doing what are considered more properly academic things like writing papers on the subject, whereas before I have written more journal articles for the practitional community. Also as part of the role I will be doing more work with PhD and undergraduate students, which is a great thing.

A lot of those students are brilliant and want to make a difference. Many of the overseas students have the skills but not the funding and I am hoping my new title might help me attract the funding to finance these students.

Development

Among Professor Bates work in Africa was a project started in 2009 to establish a WEEE recycling facility in the West African country of Nigeria, in partnership with Lincolnshire-based WEEE recycling firm Reclaimed Appliances (see letsrecycle.com story ).

The project, supported by the Nigerian government, looked to reduce the countrys reliance on landfill for electronic waste disposal, which is where the majority of WEEE ends up at the end of its life.

According to Professor Bates, her new role will allow her to further her work in Africa, and she has said that she is currently looking at developing educational projects across the globe that will promote the study of waste and the environment.

She said: The perception is that I now have a higher role and that will be useful as we look to set up strategic partnerships across the world.

In Africa we are already working with the Kenyan National Environment Management Authority to build the WEEE recycling capacity in the country, and we are looking at more strategic partnerships with Universities there.

We are also hoping to do something with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)to develop these courses to include practical experience as well so that is why it is so important to have the industry involved as well.

Professor Bates said she hoped to work closely with waste management companies in the UK to help educate the developing world on how waste can be managed in a sustainable manner and the pitfalls that the UKs waste and recycling sector has had to overcome in its development.