Editor's Focus

When attending trade shows during the past couple of years, we have been heartened by the compliments we have received regarding our weekly RecyclingToday.com e-newsletter. Both long-time readers and people who discovered us through our Web site and e-newsletter have remarked how useful they find the Tuesday afternoon summary of the past week’s recycling news.

But in the past couple of months, these compliments have been mixed with another comment that is less welcome. A few people have remarked that they "used to" enjoy our e-newsletter, but that they haven’t seen it lately.

Unfortunately, honest publishers of e-news products and the readers they serve are all being victimized by the worms, viruses and spam that have overrun the World Wide Web and the e-mail in-boxes of computer users around the world.

We are victims not only of viruses and worms that have proven to be a scourge on open communication, but also of filters and protection barriers being erected by individuals, companies and Internet service providers (ISPs). In effect, an e-newsletter like ours can become a victim of collateral damage in the just war against hackers, spammers and virus-spreaders.

Certainly, visionaries who recognized e-mail as a near-instantaneous way to communicate in print had higher purposes in mind than selling dietary supplements, hair loss prevention tonics and aphrodisiacs to audiences of millions who never requested information on the latest pseudo-scientific advancements in these areas.

In light of the spam epidemic, the filters are understandable and are not likely to go away. As honest participants in the communication industry, however, we would like our chance to retain e-newsletters as a viable (and valuable) option for our readers.

If you’re one of our readers who "used to" enjoy the Tuesday RecyclingToday.com e-newsletter, please let us know. Internet editor Dan Sandoval and the staff of Recycling Today continue to produce an outstanding information product that goes out to a growing list of thousands of recyclers and secondary commodity consumers—eager readers who want to receive the weekly dispatch.

Whether you’re a former e-newsletter recipient who wants your Tuesday news fix back, or if you’re a print reader who wants to start receiving the weekly news summary, please contact Internet editor Dan Sandoval at dsandoval@RecyclingToday.com  or try signing up through our Web site, www.RecyclingToday.com.

If you fear that filters may prevent you from even contacting us through the Web, Dan will be happy to take your call at (800) 456-0707, or you can fax him at (216) 961-0364. Let him know, and Dan will be happy to take the steps that might be needed to deliver the news.