A forum this week has warned communities and local governments not to waste their waste.

Waste can contribute in a variety of ways including supplying future power needs, according to an address at the Waste to Energy Forum in Western Australia.

Set up by the WA Local Government Association, the Forum featured State and Local Government speakers as well as an inspiring talk from an international expert in harnessing waste for energy.

Human output can become input once more, with the advance of modern management technologies.

WALGA President Mayor Troy Pickard said the Forum’s keynote speaker, Johannes Martin from German environmental energy company Martin GmbH, was at the leading edge of technology in the waste to energy field.

“As Mr Martin explained... significant advancements on clean processes in waste to energy has wide community support in Europe and resulted in plants being common practice,” Mr Pickard said.

“Once armed with this information, Local Government Elected Members and staff in WA will be able to have an open and informed discussion with their communities on the opportunities of waste to energy.”

“Given the need to move to more sustainable energy supplies, the potential of waste to energy needs to be considered as part of the sector’s role in managing waste streams as part of an integrated system in conjunction with other technologies such as resource recovery and material recovery facilities.” he said.

The complex processes involved in turning rubbish into electricity require plenty of high-tech equipment and highly-trained staff, but with some investment in equipment and training there is plenty of benefit available.

While the techniques have not taken off on a large scale in Australia, talks like the recent one in Perth may one day enlighten more governments to new ways of generating power, creating jobs and reducing waste through technological means.