Landfill goals vs reality
Across Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, cities are under growing pressure to cut landfilling, meet EU circular economy targets, and unlock the value hidden in their waste streams. Our session brings together experts, legislators, innovators, technology providers, and municipal leaders to explore the latest solutions transforming MSW management – from advanced sorting and bio-treatment to circular material recovery and next-generation waste-to-resource systems. Join us to discover scalable pathways toward zero landfill, learn from regional best practices, and connect with partners shaping a cleaner, more resilient waste future in our region.
Organisers
Venue: HUNGEXPO Budapest Congress and Exhibition Center
(1101 Budapest Albertirsai út 10.)
Date: 8 october 2026
Gold Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Concept
It is timely to review the methods and technologies for managing municipal waste, as the 2035 landfill targets are on many Member States’ agendas as an ambitious goal. The current landfilling situation, its legislative framework, existing infrastructure, and other specific factors will be assessed, considering the relevant targets, the present circumstances, and the anticipated changes in EU legislation.
The target is to reduce the amount of municipal waste landfilled in landfills to 10% (by weight) or less of the total amount of municipal waste generated by 2035. The target may be postponed by up to five years under certain conditions. Even in this case, the amount of municipal waste landfilled must be reduced to at least 25% by 2035.
In the Central and South-Eastern European region, all Member States are in the 40-80% range, so 4 to 8 times more waste is going to landfill, with a loss of raw materials, additional methane emissions, and, more recently, a multiplying number of fire events. Moreover, there are regions where waste collection systems and even landfills are still lacking, or where waste is disposed of.
We aim to provide current information on the development options and financing related to waste collection and treatment, landfill and its operation, monitoring systems, leachate management, increasing fires, and practical operational issues such as emergency management, prevention technologies, and odour control.
Target groups of the conference: legislators, relevant authorities, waste management and circular economy experts, municipal waste landfill operators, public service companies, measurement and sampling companies, researchers
OFFICIAL PROGRAMME
Language: English-Hungarian interpretation
Moderator: Zsófia Tomaj
Managing Director, Accredited ESG Consultant, Vantage Point
The Big Picture Session
10.00 – Greetings and the big picture from ISWA
James Law, President of ISWA
10.10 – Greetings and the vision of a new ministry
László Gajdos, Minister, Hungarian Ministry for Living Environment
10.20 – Legislation background #1: EU-Legislation, BREF requirements and road to 10%
René Rosendal, Chair of ISWA Working Group on Landfill, partner at Danish Waste Solutions ApS, Senior Project Manager at AV Miljø Landfill
10.40 – Legislation background #2: EPR schemes are the real Game-Changer?
Dr. Krisztina Wegner, senior environmental lawyer and circular economy expert, First Development Ltd.
11.00 – Waste management issues in the region
Aleksandra Vucic Anic, Leader of ISWA Southeast European Chapter
11.20 – Q&A
11.30 – COFFEE BREAK
The Tech-Session
11.50 – Data-Driven Landfill Management—Measurement, Forecasting, and More Efficient Operations
Erika Horváth, Managing Director, Klarwin Hungary Ltd.
12.05 – Technology as a Game Changer: Improving Waste Collection Services, Efficiency and Recycling Outcomes
Climent Vilatersana, Director Waste Strategy, MOBA Mobile Automation AG
12.20 – Landfill Capping and Environmental Management
Dr.-Ing. Jovanna Husemann, Head of Global Business Development, Naue Group
12.35 – Landfill gas management and methane emission
Dr. László Aleksza, Associate Professor, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Managing Director, Profikomp Ltd.
12.50 – Fire hazard in Waste Management, or Playing with Fire
Roland Ladányi, Managing Director, MiReHu Nonprofit Ltd.
13.05 – Aftercare and recultviation
Emanuele De Santis, Export Manager, Frisoli S.r.l.
13.20 – The role of urban mining in sustainable raw material production – from waste to value
Prof. Dr. Gábor Mucsi, Dean, University Full Professor, University of Miskolc, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Engineering
13.35 – Closing dumpsities – financing the switchover
James Law, Chairman of ISWA, Project Director at SCS Engingeers
13.50 – Q&A
14.00 – LUNCH BREAK & EXPO VISIT
15.00 – The session of National and International Sections
SECTION A – Country reports: 12′ each speaker
Croatia
Lana Krišto, Chairman, HUGO/CROWMA
Hungary: Advanced Leachate Treatment: PFAS Removal and Water Reuse Using Reverse Osmosis
Erika Horváth, Managing Director, Klarwin Hungary Ltd.
Romania: Profitable Landfilling – The toolbox is ready
Lucian Pavel, Head of the Environmental Department, Klarwin Romania
Serbia: Landfills on Fire: Inadequate Disposal Practices, Air Pollution, and Health Impacts
Dejan Ubavin, Full Professor, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad
North Macedonia: Financing landfill planning and building in accession countries
M.Sc.Ana Karanfilova Maznevska, Head of Waste Management Department, Environmental Administration, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, Republic of Macedonia
Ukraine: From mountain waste to cross-border risk: the problem of the landfill site in Rakhiv
Nataliia Rizak, Owner&CEO JurEco Consulting LLC, Head of the Agrоecology of Committee at PAEW
Montenegro: From High Landfill Dependence to an EU-Aligned Waste Management System – Current Gaps, Financing Needs and the Role of Municipalities
Veselin Sturanovic, Executive Director, FORS Montenegro
Q&A
15.00 – The session of National and International Sections
SECTION B – Hungarian section: 15′ each speaker
(Hungarian language ONLY!)
Municipal Waste in Hungary in Light of the Waste Hierarchy. How Can Landfilling Be Reduced to Less Than 50%?
László Uhri, Senior Advisor, Hungarian Ministry for the Living Environment
The Landfill Surcharge and the Creation of a Reserve
Dr. Adrienn Bartus, Division Director, National Division of Environmental Protection, Nature Conservation, and Waste Management
Operational experience in light of landfill reduction requirements
Miklós Piskolczi, Director of Coordination and Investments, A.K.S.D. Urban Management Ltd.
Hijacking: Keeping E-Waste Out of Landfills!
Norbert Höflinger
VOSZ – National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers (Hungary)
Chair of the Environmental Protection and Waste Management Section
Zero Landfill initiative
Attila Maxim Ferenczi, Reco Waste Management Ltd.
Sustainable Landfill? (environment and economics)
Tivadar Runtág, Strategy & Sustainability Director MOHU MOL Zrt.
Q&A
16.30 – Closing remarks and next steps