In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers, and legislators.
"Risk management is an underappreciated aspect of the ferrous scrap business."
— INTL FC Stone Consultant Spencer Johnson when reflecting on scrap market fluctuations in 2015. Johnson advised that recyclers consider new hedging opportunities in the market in order to mitigate such changes.
"Don’t try to create a situation where everything is corrected overnight. Start at what’s most important to your business in that moment. Identify those steps, then you can start gathering information...Acknowledge how that information can help your organization and where the leaks are in your system...From there, the sky is the limit."
— Mike Spence, senior vice president of fleet services at Fleet Advantage, on how managers can best utilize tools that offer fleet data. A recent Fleet Advantage survey of more than 500 executives showed that 45% of respondents are not sure if such data-gathering technologies result in operational savings.
"If you go to separate collections, recognize it’s voluntary and not perfect. But there are techniques to make it effective."
— Peter Anderson, president of Recycle Worlds Consulting, on three-bin waste collection systems to divert organics from the landfill. By making an effort to implement this system, municipalities are able to prevent gas-producing wastes from harming the environment.
"In order for any organization to be successful, they have to have the right people working together in the right culture with a shared vision of where the company is headed."
— Seth Goodman, CEO of Northstar Recycling, on how success can be created from the type of environment in which a company is operated. Northstar's company culture landed it on two major "best place to work" lists in the past year.
"I am an eternal optimist, I don’t think I could be in this industry if I wasn't optimistic."
— Patty Moore, president of Moore Recycling Associates, at the 2016 ISRI Annual Convention where she discussed the future role of recycling. Moore expressed confidence that despite unfavorable market prices, recycling will remain a vital operation in waste management in order to combate carbon emissions and pollution.
"Our number one priority has been to address the landfill gas odors impacting our neighbors around the landfill. All other alternatives to force Republic Services to comply with their contractual obligations have been unsuccessful."
— Dave Lavender, east region vice president of Advanced Disposal, on a recent fued between the company and Republic Services. Advanced has filed a legal motion against Republic requesting that it controls an apparently faulty gas collection and control system at Michigan's Arbor Hills Landfill.