Editor's Focus--Reviews for Bad Acting

At a recent recycling industry event, more than one speaker referred to "bad actors" within the industry. Again, definitions for this term may differ from one person to the next. In established recycling markets, scrap processors and shippers who disregard environmental and safety regulations might most frequently earn the "bad-actor" label.

In emerging and lower-profit recycling markets, the "bad-actor" label can extend beyond the blatantly illegal. In the tire, wood and electronics recycling markets, the label is often given (used interchangeably with "sham recyclers") to those said to be misrepresenting their recycling practices.

Companies, with the word "recycling" in their names, have collected many fees and plenty of materials with the implication that these materials will be recycled. In instances that give the entire industry a bad name, entire stockpiles have been left outside or in warehouses, or material has instead been sent to a landfill or an incinerator.

In some cases, the economic pressures of another month of red ink may cause originally good-intentioned recyclers to do something they know amounts to misrepresentation (at the very least).

One bad actor who garners enough bad reviews to make regional or even national headlines (think about large tire fires) can cause harm to a much wider community of recyclers. Legitimate recyclers can feel regret for the person being shut down or prosecuted, but to turn away and allow such companies to keep operating may ultimately lead to a public loss of faith in recycling—and a much deeper sense of regret.

I hope our readers will welcome two individuals Recycling Today believes will be a couple of good actors—Gary Wascovich and Jackie Gubeno.

Gary joins Recycling Today as a sales manager and has already been on the road meeting customers and readers and representing Recycling Today at industry events. He will be a familiar face to many of his customers, as he has formerly worked for equipment suppliers to the scrap industry.

Jackie Gubeno joins our editorial staff as a 2004 university graduate. She is already making reporting and writing contributions to our Web sites and print products and will be out on the road to meet readers and customers during the busy spring 2005 trade show and conference season.

Gary and Jackie are looking forward to meeting readers from all segments of the recycling industry and—like the rest of us—they’ll welcome your ideas and feedback concerning how our media products can serve you.