Editor's Focus

A STRETCH OF FAIR WEATHER

Some recyclers may have felt antipathy with bears and other hibernating
animals this spring. Although recyclers by no means literally slept through
the last two years of declining or down markets, they may have retreated
into a psychological storm shelter, finally emerging this spring as conditions improved.

When one’s industry is going through declining revenues, decreased demand and (for those in the municipal segment) is under attack from political opponents, climbing into a cave with the bears to wait out the storm does not seem like a bad option.

The good news is that a stretch of better conditions seems to have settled in for many segments of the recycling industry. The bad news is that there is no telling for how long conditions have improved.

Coping with pricing and demand cyclicality may be the permanent fate of those in the recycling industry. Which other storm clouds pose a threat to the recycling industry remains a source of debate. Many recyclers regard a potential erosion of America’s industrial base as the biggest concern facing the industry, while others focus their concerns on government policies that could harm either consumers of recyclable commodities or the collection of recyclables.

The state of the economy is always a concern. The technology bubble economy of the late 1990s did not necessarily bolster all segments of the recycling industry. In fact, the bursting of that bubble may help investment capital flow more generously toward the basic industries that were neglected by investors for several years. These are the industries that consume what recyclers bale and shred.

Ideally, a stretch of higher pricing and greater demand for commodities such as steel, boxboard and brass rod will restore the hum to the U.S. industrial engine and its capital structure. If not, recyclers are among the first to understand when the weather is about to change.

Awards and recognition have been earned by Recycling Today as the publishing industry recognizes the best work of 2001.

The opening spread for the story "Fast Forward," which appeared in the "Material Handling Equipment Guide" in the November 2001 issue of Recycling Today, has been awarded by the Central Region of the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). The layout received a Silver Award, which was the highest award given in that particular category.

Art director Andrea Vagas and editor Brian Taylor were recognized for the opening layout of the story. (Although Andrea is no longer art director of Recycling Today, her work can still be seen in fellow GIE Media publications C&D Recycler and Pest Control Technology.) Recognition for this award should also go to Caterpillar Inc. for supplying artist’s renderings used in the layout.

And Recycling Today earned two awards from the Press Club of Cleveland. The July 2001 cover of Recycling Today earned a first place graphics award in its trade publication category. Recycling Today’s Vagas and Taylor, as well as senior editor Dan Sandoval, were involved in the creation of the cover. Nucor Inc. supplied a terrific molten steel photo that provided the image for the cover.

Also recognized by the Press Club was the September 2001 Latin-American Markets Supplement. This bi-lingual supplement received first place honors in the Special Section/Package category for 2001.

We’re optimistic that Recycling Today will continue to provide award-winning coverage and content to its readers in 2002.