Dr Kartik Venkatraman is a specialist in waste and environmental management; and holds a doctorate in Phytocapping. Kartik has managed waste operations, developed and implemented strategies/plans/policies/procedures, written tenders, conducted audits/assessments/reviews/analysis and undertaken research whilst his tenure in Local Government. He has been pivotal in revolutionising and bringing innovation in waste management within the Local Government sector. Kartik has been associated with the waste industry, engineers, scientists and academics for over a decade with significant contributions and achievements in this field. He is a member of Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) and has actively taken part in various working groups, workshops, seminars and conferences. He has also chaired the Local Government Network Group (QLD). Kartik’s research in Phytocapping of landfills has been well recognised and acknowledged nationally and internationally. He has successfully implemented phytocaps during his tenure in Local Government thus specialises in providing futuristic capping solutions for landfills.