With just one month until doors open, RWM Expo 2026 has organised its most feature-packed edition yet. Whether you’re a fleet operator, a local authority professional, a plant manager or looking for the latest innovation in waste and resource management, there’s a plethora of prospects waiting for you on the show floor.
Waste Trucks Live: Compare Specialist Waste Vehicles
New for 2026, Waste Trucks Live, sponsored by NRG Riverside, is the most comprehensive showcase of specialist waste vehicles ever brought together at a live event in the UK. Designed as a one-stop-shop, the zone brings leading manufacturers together on site so fleet operators, managers and buyers can compare specifications, configurations and applications side by side, in a practical, real-world setting.
Vehicles are grouped by body type – RCVs, skip & hook loaders, food waste trucks, tippers & tankers, sweepers and specialist bodies – so visitors can navigate the area quickly and focus on the solutions relevant to their operation. Across both days, timetabled live demonstrations at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm give visitors the chance to see vehicles in action and speak directly to the teams behind them.
Confirmed demonstrators so far include Diamond Trucks, Electra Commercial Vehicles, Kärcher, and MACPAC Refuse Bodies Ltd.
If fleet investment and specification decisions are on your radar, this is where you’ll find the answers – all in one place, without the usual back-and-forth of separate manufacturer visits.
VIP Fleet Professionals Programme
Fleet operators, managers and buyers can go further this year by registering as a VIP Fleet Professional – free, via the standard registration form. VIP benefits include:
- Fast-track entry with a badge sent ahead of the show
- Complimentary on-site parking
- An exclusive, invitation-only fleet networking event on the afternoon of 16 September at The Big Red Bus Bar (sponsored by Panda) with free drinks
- Complimentary refreshments throughout the day
The programme, sponsored by CameraMatics, is designed to put senior fleet decision-makers directly in front of the suppliers shortlisted for their next procurement cycle.
GET YOUR FREE FLEET VIP TICKET
Waste Processing Live: Watch Machinery in Action at the Live Demonstration Area
For visitors who want to see waste processing equipment doing what it does best, the Live Demonstration Area is one of the unmissable features of RWM Expo. Running across both days, Waste Processing Live brings together leading waste and recycling equipment manufacturers for working demonstrations you won’t find anywhere else – shredders, sorting technology, balers, material handlers and recycling equipment, all operating in the environment they were built for.
Confirmed demonstrators so far include Natural Engineering, Hammel, LiuGong and JCB Global Machinery Solutions, with live displays running at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm on both days in the outside demonstration area.
If you’re weighing up equipment for your operation, this is your chance to see it under real working conditions before you commit – no showroom gloss, just machinery doing the job in its intended environment.
The LARAC Lounge: The Meeting Place for Local Authority Professionals
Located at the heart of the Collections & Transport Zone, the LARAC Lounge – sponsored by PermiServ – is the dedicated space for local authority waste and recycling professionals to connect, share ideas and explore the latest solutions shaping collections.
Whether your focus is fleet procurement, service delivery or wider local authority strategy, the lounge gives you a welcoming space to network with peers, meet suppliers and take a breather from the show floor with a complimentary tea or coffee. While there, visitors can also:
- Book a one-to-one with a LARAC Policy Officer
- Catch up with colleagues and make new contacts in a dedicated networking space
- Hold informal supplier meetings away from the main aisles
- Attend the Garden Waste Awards on day one, hosted by PermiServ
- Join the LARAC Networking Drinks Reception at 2pm on day one
- Access free parking as a qualifying local authority visitor
Speaker Programme: 100+ Sessions Across Six Theatres
RWM’s speaker programme is the largest in the sector’s calendar, with over 100 sessions across two days spanning a multitude of theatres: Collections & Transport, Commercial, Industrial & Hazardous Waste, Construction & Demolition, Circular Economy & Sustainability, Packaging & EPR, and the Future Talent Hub.
Highlights across the two days include senior leadership panels on the future direction of the UK waste sector featuring speakers from Biffa, SUEZ, Veolia, FCC and Encyclis; practical sessions on Digital Waste Tracking ahead of the Environment Act 2021 deadline; a DRS “One Year to Go” readiness panel with Coca-Cola European Partners, Biffa and Tomra; deep dives into PPWR and Packaging EPR Year 2 with Valpak; and a keynote from Merijn Tinga, the “Plastic Soup Surfer,” on his journey to bring deposit return schemes to European policymakers – including a private audience with the Pope.
Elsewhere, the Future Talent Hub runs sessions on the green skills gap, diversity and inclusion, and the 35 Under 35 Awards, while the Circular Economy & Sustainability Theatre, explores everything from fabric design and textile reuse to consumer behaviour change and applied circularity.
Whatever your part of the sector, there’s a session built around the challenges you’re dealing with right now.
300+ World-Class Suppliers
RWM brings together more than 300 cutting-edge exhibitors spanning the full waste and resource management supply chain – from global leaders to emerging innovators – across collections and transport, construction and demolition, packaging and EPR, commercial and hazardous waste, and circular economy solutions. For visitors, that means the chance to compare suppliers, assess technology and start conversations that would otherwise take months of separate meetings, all in a single, high-impact visit.
RWM Connect: The Connections Don’t Stop When the Show Floor Closes
New for 2026, RWM Connect is a flagship networking evening co-hosted between RWM Expo and CIWM, taking place on the evening of day one – 16 September, from 7:00pm at The VOX, Resorts World Birmingham, on-site at the NEC. Uniting the audiences of the former ESS Connect Party and CIWM Gala Dinner, RWM Connect brings together 900+ industry professionals for a relaxed, informal evening to unwind after a busy day on the floor.
Tickets include a complimentary welcome drink, free beer, wine and soft drinks from 8-10pm, food stations throughout the venue, and live entertainment including a DJ, casino tables and games, alongside dedicated quieter spaces for those who’d rather talk shop than dance. The evening runs from arrival and drinks at 7pm through to carriages at midnight.
SECURE YOUR RWM CONNECT TICKET
Commenting on this year’s show, Rob Mowat, Managing Director at Roar B2B, organisers of RWM, said:
“RWM has always been about bringing the whole resource management sector together in one place, and this year the breadth of what’s on offer for visitors is bigger than ever. Between Waste Trucks Live, the Live Demonstration Area, 300-plus exhibitors and a speaker programme running across six theatres, there’s something for every part of the industry – whether you’re on the operational side, a local authority, or driving innovation across the supply chain. And with RWM Connect now closing out day one, visitors don’t need to choose between doing business and enjoying the sector’s biggest social night of the year – they can do both.”
Plan Your Visit
RWM 2026 takes place at the NEC Birmingham on 16–17 September. Registration is free – secure your place today.
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