Editor's Focus

Changes in behavior are sorted into an array of categories, ranging from manias and crazes to altered cultural landscapes. Within that spectrum, business owners must often make decisions about whether a change in the works is a fad or a trend.

The two words are sometimes used interchangeably, but their definitions are by no means identical. The word fad is usually attached to a temporary phenomenon that will most likely be looked back upon with a sense of bemusement several years down the road.

The strict definition of a trend, however, involves something far longer lasting. While trends are by no means irreversible (though the two words are often found together), in most applications the word trend applies to something that endures beyond the next "year in review" feature story.

Energy prices that have been rising appreciably have helped churn a great deal of money into both traditional and alternative energy exploration. The traditional energy segment—fossil fuels—has more than a century of entrenched investment and corporate consolidation behind it. While entrepreneurs can still work their way into the fossil fuels industry, they are competing in a land of giants.

Alternative energy, on the other hand, is becoming a latter-day Oklahoma land rush, and to some extent recyclers are compelled to keep a close eye on these developments both as consumers of energy and as potential providers of alternative energy feedstocks.

Whether the interest and investment in alternative energy is a fad or a trend has become a high-stakes wager for many investors and employees of newly minted ventures. The alternative energy ideas are numerous, with scenarios involving wind, solar, geothermal, battery, nuclear, biomass and waste-to-energy power sources all being researched.

The last two categories can be of particular interest to recyclers, especially those who must currently landfill a significant amount of what they handle or who sell some of their volume into low-end applications.

Biomass and waste-to-energy technologies that have been developed include many that do not involve combustion or incineration and accompanying emissions that invite environmental scrutiny.

It may be more than a pipe dream that a robust alternative energy market could provide a new, competitive end market for recyclers handling mixed or low-end materials lacking practical closed loop systems.

Perhaps the good news is that recyclers can win in whichever scenario plays out. If energy prices trend downward, then recyclers can look forward to lower operating costs. And if energy sources beyond fossil fuels do in fact become more common, recycling companies can use their access to raw materials to profit from this emerging segment.