Getting Together

The Internet and its e-bullient cousins (e-commerce and e-business) have received much of the attention – and much of the available financial capital – in the past three years.

One of the angles from which the Internet is studied (and advertised) is in its ability to bring people together. Television commercials show people in far-flung corners of the globe communicating in "real time" either as informal pen pals or to discuss a critical business issue. Doctors seek medical advice, farmers seek agricultural advice, chefs track down the missing ingredient in a recipe, and disenchanted young adults find the careers they are destined for through the Internet and World Wide Web. Seemingly, about all that remains is for a "virtual baby" to be delivered through a modem jack.

While it’s possible that the dot.com world is being oversold in its virtues, its effect on business and its ability to help people communicate should not be discounted. E-mail and websites have joined the list of ways in which sales personnel reach customers and through which those same customers seek information to do their own comparison shopping.

But the added electronic means of communication has apparently not prevented business owners and managers from finding a value in gathering to interact with peers, competitors and suppliers in "old-fashioned" meetings, forums, seminars and conventions. A glance at the year 2000 calendar of events assembled by the staff of C&D Recycler shows no shortage of events that will be well attended by those involved in (and those curious about) construction and demolition materials recycling.

In February 2000 alone, the Construction Materials Recycling Association holds its annual meeting in Tampa, while within the next ten days the World of Concrete convenes in Orlando and the Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association (ARRA) meets in Cancun.

The very next month, scrap recyclers who are part of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. will meet in Las Vegas, with the National Association of Demolition Contractors (NADC) following just two weeks later at the same hotel.

April, May and June offer several more shows, including several state and regional recycling industry annual meetings and the jumbo-sized WasteExpo, which will be held in Atlanta May 13-18.

Clearly, gathering in one place and exchanging information in person is still of value to many recyclers. The Recycling Today Media Group and C&D Recycler are confident that the C&D recycling industry, as a young and rapidly changing industry segment, can benefit from one more event: the C&D Management Forum, to be held November 5-7 at the Wyndham Northwest hotel in suburban Chicago.

We’re looking forward to presenting sessions of interest to processors of C&D debris, and drawing on the expertise of those very same processors, as well as industry consultants and equipment suppliers.

Please keep an eye out for further details on the show’s programming and schedule in upcoming issues of C&D Recycler. For our part, we’ll look forward to hosting a gathering of those interested in getting together with their industry counterparts, suppliers and, yes, even competitors.