History In 1995 several professionals working in the area of biological treatment became concerned with the proliferation of conferences and workshops covering the theme. Some of these were excellent and many of them were poor. In 1995, at the Bologna international conference on ‘The Science of Composting’, a small group of academics and other professionals got together to formalise an arrangement to run one main conference every two years. Essentially this began with the Bologna conference but the first conference under the ORBIT (Organic Recovery and Biological Treatment) banner was in Harrogate in 1997. This attracted over 200 delegates from more than 30 countries. The next conferences took place in Weimar, Germany, 1999, Sevilla, Spain 200, Perth, Australia 2003, Weimar 2006 and Wageningen 2008. Further sucessfull conferences followed with an ORBIT Special in Wolfsburg about Biodegradable Polymers in Gödöllö, Udine, Aschaffenburg Maastricht, and Peking China. Meanwhile, the experiences gathered by organising and conducting these venues have clearly pointed out the need of pursuing dissemination of information in a concerted and consistent manner. The ORBIT Association has been formed to tackle this need. The ORBIT Association was founded in Weimar in 1999 under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the meantime the ORBIT shows new tasks. The work in the year 2002 stands for the foundation and establishment of the European Compost Network, which will take care of the need of practical operation in composting, anaerobic digestion and mechanical-biological pre-treatment in Europe. Mission Statement & Objectives ORBIT is a non-profit association established under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The mission of the ORBIT Association is "to promote the scientific and technological development of environmental biotechnology ". The objectives of ORBIT are listed as follows: organisation and conduct of conferences, workshops, and exhibitions; production of publications; and organisation and conduct of training courses.