Biographical note

Prof. Agamuthu has authored more than 350 scientific publications and several books on Solid Waste. His research interests focus on  landfill gas studies and bio-covers, waste characterization, municipal waste management, solidification/stabilization of hazardous wastes, biological treatment of waste, waste minimization and cleaner production, leachate studies and use for agro-irrigation, landfill remediation by chemical and biological methods, water and wastewater treatment,  plastic biodegradation studies, Environmental Management Systems, Environmental Impact Assessment and waste management, Life Cycle Analysis in waste management, and value-addition of agricultural  and industrial wastes for enzyme production,  value-addition of agricultural wastes, material flow analysis (MFA), and bioremediation. Prof. Agamuthu has carried out more than 50 consultancy/advisory projects. Examples of organizations advised are EPI Environmental Plastics, Australia (2001), the University of the West Indies, Jamaica (2000), MBPJ (on-going to the present), Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Malaysia (2006 to the present) as the National Technical Advisory Board Member, and  United Nations Environmental Programme (2007). He is a Senior Advisory Group Expert to Executive Secretary of Basel Convention, Geneva, and UNEP. He is also involved in International research collaboration with  Austria, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Germany etc., as in the Integrated Sustainable Solid Waste Management (ISSOWAMA) project involving 26 Asian countries with funding from EU, and the 3R Resources project involving six Asian countries with funding from IGES, Japan. Prof. Agamuthu is Associate Editor of Waste Management & Research Journal, Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of Science and was a Senate Member of UM (2005 – 2007). Prof. Agamuthu is an Editorial Board Member of Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (Japan), Journal of Safety and Environment (China),reviewer for Journal of Hazardous Wastes (USA), Journal of Environmental Management (USA) and International Journal of Environment and Waste Management etc. He is also the Registered Subject Expert (solid waste management, under Section 34A, Environmental Quality Act, Malaysia).

Prof. Masaru Tanaka is the Director of the Sustainability Research Institute, Tottori University of Environmental Studies in Tottori, Japan. He specialises in Solid Waste Management Engineering, Refuse Collection and Transportation, Incineration Technology, Management of Landfill, Dioxin Control, Management of Health Care Waste. He was dispatched to various countries (Morocco, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines, China, Indonesia) as a JICA expert in his field for technical cooperation. Masaru Tanaka is also a Member of various governmental committees regarding waste management and sustainable development.