Global Waste Lab is joining ISWA World Congress 2026 as a Knowledge Partner.
The Congress will take place in London from 9–11 November 2026, hosted by CIWM in partnership with ISWA.
For Global Waste Lab, this is a chance to support one of the most important global gatherings for the waste and resource management sector.
Across the sector, there is a huge amount of practical learning about what works, what does not, and what helps waste projects continue after the first phase of funding or support has ended.
The problem is that this learning is not always easy to find or use.
Global Waste Lab was created to help close that gap.
The Academy makes practical waste management learning easier to access.
The Studio is there to help organisations, funders and project teams apply that learning in real projects, with a focus on systems that are realistic, locally appropriate and more likely to last.
Building towards ISWA 2026
As a Knowledge Partner, Global Waste Lab is sharing practical learning in the lead-up to ISWA 2026.
This includes Built to Last: The Foundations of Resilient Waste Systems – a seven-part webinar series developed with be Waste Wise and endorsed by CIWM.
The series is based on Global Waste Lab’s Seven Foundations of a Resilient Waste System – a practical framework drawing on more than 20 years of experience and research undertaken for the UNEP / ISWA Global Waste Management Outlook 2024.
Across seven webinars, experienced practitioners are exploring what waste systems need if they are going to survive beyond the pilot, project or first round of funding.
On Day 3 of the Congress, Zoë Lenkiewicz will host a live panel bringing together lessons from across the series and asking: what does it really take to build waste systems that last?
Why focus on what lasts?
Many waste projects start well. They have good people behind them, real local need and a clear reason to exist.
The harder test comes later.
Does the service keep running when the first funding ends? Can local teams maintain the equipment? Do the finances make sense? Is there enough local ownership to keep adapting when conditions change?
Built to Last uses the Seven Foundations to explore these questions with people who have direct experience of making waste systems work in practice.
Join the global waste sector in London
ISWA World Congress 2026 will bring the international waste and resource management sector to London from 9–11 November 2026.
The Congress will be a chance to hear from sector leaders, exchange practical experience, meet people working across different parts of the waste system, and take part in conversations about where waste and resource management needs to go next.
For Global Waste Lab, Built to Last is helping to build towards those conversations – bringing practical learning into the lead-up to the Congress and then into a live panel on Day 3.
The Congress programme is now live.
Registration is now open.
