3004372 - Circular Economy Outlook – Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

10:10am – 11:50am ET

Location: 302C

Panel Chair(s)

Chih C. Chao, PhD (he/him/his)

Principal
Cantech Environmental Services, ON, Canada

Panel Co-Chair(s)

Mingming Lu, PhD

Professor
University of Cincinnati, Ohio

Panelist(s)

Norm L. Ruttan, B. Sc. Ecology (he/him/his)

President
iWasteNot Systems, ON, Canada
Xiaodong Li, PhD (he/him/his)

Professor
Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China (People's Republic)
CM

Christia Meidiana

Brawijaya University
Jon W. Greene, P.E.

Senior Project Manager
Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., TX
KH

Kevin Hobbie

Green Li-ion

Implementing a circular economy promises to be a sustainable way to facilitate economic growth while conserving natural resources and reducing environmental impact including climate change effects. Many countries have benefited from this practice leading to n enhanced green competitiveness and enviable national growth. However, this concept is not that easy to implement in other countries for one reason or another. Factors of consideration include public mindset, regulatory setting, waste management framework, technology innovation, economic drive, and market mechanism.

This panel will discuss the above issues and illustrate underlying challenges while presenting potential opportunities for interested policy-makers, business and industrial leaders, circular economy practitioners, waste recyclers, technology researchers, sustainability promoters, etc. to consider. Successful cases will be analyzed. Barriers and solution approaches will also be discussed. Invited panelists will share their experiences and viewpoints on these aspects, expecting to spark enthusiastic dialogues among the participants.