Following the tradition of its predecessors, the ORBIT 2010 Conference provides a major scientific forum to cover the latest findings and policy developments regarding both material and energy recovery from organic resources, i.e. a wide variety of organic materials that for a long time has been regarded only as a troublesome waste. The climate change as well as the problems of unequal distribution of nutrients and soils organic mater depletion have also resulted in a growing focus on organic residues, not as a problem but as a resource.

The ORBIT 2010 deals with all aspects of management of many different organic residues: from waste prevention to beneficial recycling of compost and digestate into the soil, and all forms of energy recovery. The traditional subjects of composting and anaerobic digestion are discussed along with various aspects of technology and product quality. Emerging issues are also addressed, such as: sustainable energy recovery from biomass; the role of soil and carbon sequestration in climate change; and the potential of wastewater reuse to reduce the serious water stress already threatening many regions of the world and expected to become more severe due to the climate change.

While the scientific discussion and the presentation of the latest research findings are in the foreground of the ORBIT conference, the discussion of the ongoing European political context related to waste, recycling, renewable energy and climate change also have a central place in ORBIT 2010...
(preface)