Northern Ireland's minister of agriculture, environment and rural affairs, Andrew Muir, will speak at this year's Northern Ireland Waste & Resource Management Conference in Belfast.

The conference, which is organised by Recycle NI and the Chartered Institution of Waste Management Northern Ireland (CIWM NI), will take place on Thursday, June 20, at the Europa Hotel in Belfast.

Minister Muir will speak to over 200 delegates from both the public and private sectors on the theme of 'Ever Increasing Circles - Circular Economy: Engagement, Action & Impact'.

Other keynote speakers include Mark Shayler, who has worked with brands like Nike, Samsung and Audi, and Tom Burke of Coca Cola Ireland.

Other confirmed national and international speakers include:

Chief executive of RiverRidge, Brett Ross;
President of CIWM, Dan Cooke;
Professional services director of CIWM, Katie Cockburn;
Director of insights and innovation for WRAP UK, Claire Shrewsbury;
Sustainability engineer at Queens University and Somerville, Grainne Rose Murphy;
Partner at A&l Goodbody, Michaela Diver;
Secretary of Recycle NI, Conor Walsh;
Head of circular economy at Irish Manufacturing Research, Dr. Geraldine Brennan.

This year's conference will discuss waste policy and how it can be used to help implement the circular economy.

Other themes that will be discussed include:

'Skills for the Circular Economy';
'Circular Economy More Than Just Recycling';
'Coca-Cola’s Journey to a World without Waste on the Island of Ireland';
'A NI Business Embracing the Circular Economy';
'Northern Irish Waste Sector Legal Updates';
'Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in Ireland – Some Observations';
'Waste Management with Purpose: An update on our ESG Strategy';
'How we can make the Circular Economy a Reality in Northern Ireland'.

Conference tickets are on sale for £156 for CIWM NI and Recycle NI members and £195 to the general public.