Outside the Cardboard Box

In addition to learning more about the dynamics shaping the recovered fiber markets, recycling industry professionals will gain insight into handling plastics and aluminum when they attend the Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show Oct. 14 to 16. The event, hosted by the Recycling Today Media Group (publisher of Recycling Today) and event partner, the Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), is in Chicago at the Marriott Magnificent Mile.

On Paper
Among the keynote speakers addressing attendees of the 2012 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show is David Oppedahl, a business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He addresses the factors influencing the economy in general and the paper recycling and manufacturing industries in particular Monday, Oct. 15, from 8:30 to 10 a.m.

A second keynote session, Tuesday, Oct. 16, begins at 8:30 a.m. In “Milling Around,” speakers discuss how paper mills are responding to changes in recovered fiber supply. Moderated by Bill Moore of Atlanta-based Moore & Associates, a paper industry consulting group, the session features Matt Nightingale, vice president of business development with FutureMark Paper, Benoit Gratton, director of energy procurement with Cascades, and Myles Cohen, president of Pratt Industries.

Attendees looking for an assessment of the health of the forest products and paper recycling industries will want to attend the PSI-sponsored session “Industry Assessment,” Monday, Oct. 15, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. In this session, a panel of analysts and consultants to the forest products and paper recycling industries discusses trends driving these industries.

From top: The Paper Recycling Conference’s keynote sessions are always well-attended; Bill Moore of Moore & Associates addresses conference attendees; the exhibit hall provides attendees with the opportunity to interact with suppliers to the industry.

The growth in recovered paper exports makes the session “Beyond Borders” a natural draw for anyone handling recovered paper. In this roundtable discussion, scheduled for Oct. 15 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., a panel of industry veterans examines the roles of emerging markets and provides insight into how international trade of recovered fiber is likely to develop. Among the speakers scheduled for this session are Robes Nelson of Cellmark Recycling, headquartered in Sweeden; Cees Van Berkel of CVB Ecologistics, based in the Netherlands; and Patty Norris of Federal International, St. Louis.

Sustainability initiatives are of growing interest, and the session “The Business of Sustainability” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, details such efforts on the part of retailers and consumer products companies and the opportunities they create for recycling firms. Moderator Betsy Dorn of Florida-based StewardEdge USA Inc. leads a panel that includes John Mulcahey of GP Consumer Products, Atlanta, and Laura Rowell of Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C.

Beyond Paper
The Paper Recycling Conference opens with numerous workshops Sunday, Oct. 14, in which speakers offer their insights into handling materials beyond paper, including a session about securely destroying products and digital information. In “Safe & Secure” panelists examine security issues related to handling sensitive information in printed and digital form and off-spec or obsolete products. Speakers are Neil Gloger of InterGroup International, Euclid, Ohio; Marilyn Slavin of Green Delete, Chicago; and Trisha Rooney Alden and Greg Smitas of R4 Services, Chicago.

From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, panelists discuss supply concerns, buy/sell issues and uses for mixed rigid containers and plastics 3–7 in the workshop “Marketing Plastics 3–7.” Speakers include Tom De Reu of Gemini Corp., headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium; Dennis Denton of Denton Plastics, Portland, Ore.; and Igor Beylin of Universal Commodity Services, based out of Charlotte, N.C.

A second plastics session, “The Future is Plastics,” Monday, Oct. 15, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. looks at markets for some of the most common grades of plastics. Speakers include Hamilton Wenn of Newport CH International, Orange, Calif.; David Bender of Perpetual Recycling, Richmond, Ind.; and Phil Rozenski of Hilex Poly, Hartsville, S.C.

In “A Thirst for Aluminum” from 4 to 5 p.m., Oct. 14, Joel Litman of Texas Recycling/Surplus is among the speakers who address the opportunities that arise from handling aluminum UBCs (used beverage containers).

Getting Down to Business
The Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show attracts business leaders from across the nation and around the globe. The event brings together suppliers, consumers, equipment vendors, state and local recycling officials and other professionals affiliated with the recovered fiber industry. The conference provides a forum in which to network with industry colleagues, share opportunities and ideas and discuss strategies to create growth.

The Paper Recycling Conference also includes an exhibit hall featuring more than 60 suppliers to the industry who are ready to show off their products and services for the industry.

In addition to the opening reception Sunday from 5 to 6:30 p.m., the exhibit hall hosts refreshment breaks and lunches Monday and Tuesday, providing attendees opportunity for networking.

The schedule is available at https://paperplasticsna.recyclingtodayevents.com/schedule, and registration, exhibit and sponsorship information is available by visiting https://paperplasticsna.recyclingtodayevents.com/.
 

The author is managing editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at dtoto@gie.net.