From the Archives

Making Headlines in 2003...

March 19: A US-led Coalition Invades Iraq

Aug. 14: A Massive Power Outage Affects 55 Million People in the US and Canada

Oct. 24: The Concorde Supersonic jet Makes its Last Flight

Dec. 13: Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein Captured by US Troops

Consuming Markets
100 and Counting
Well-managed basic materials companies can enjoy long life spans, with papermaker Sonoco providing a ready example.

When it was profiled in Recycling Today in June 2005, Sonoco, Harstville, S.C., was more than 100 years old. The paper and packaging manufacturer not only consumes considerable amounts of recovered fiber in its mills, it also owns and operates its own paper stock plants.

Jim Hines, who managed Sonoco’s recycling operations in 2005, said the emergence of China as a competitor for recovered paper was “difficult to adjust to.”

Industry Leaders
The Right Reasons
Manny Bodner of Bodner Iron & Metal, Houston, has been involved seemingly nonstop in regional and national activities for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), Washington, D.C., throughout his career.

A December 2003 Recycling Today feature story on Bodner and his company notes that at the time he served as the ISRI Gulf Coast Chapter’s first vice president, editor of the chapter’s newsletter, helped plan the annual convention and had served in the chapter officer roles, including president. He served in other chapter officer ranks over the next several years.

On the ISRI national front, Bodner had long been a part of ISRI’s Design for Recycling Committee, which works with product manufacturers, designers and their trade associations to urge them to consider the recyclability of the products they make. “I think the impact on our industry can be dynamic,” said Bodner.

Business Trends
Unwanted Commerce
The ongoing practice of Ontario municipal solid waste being transported to Michigan had begun to garner unwanted attention on both sides of the border by late 2004.

In the November 2004 edition of Recycling Today, guest contributor Michele Raymond (now deceased) provided an overview of pending lawsuits and legislation on both sides of the border that had been designed to change the situation.

“Toronto is exporting about 1 million tons [annually] of mostly commercial waste to Michigan landfills,” Raymond writes in the article. “However, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has signed no less than 11 new laws in 2004 that seek to restrict Toronto trash.”

Ontario sought to collect fees from packaged goods brand owners to fund recycling, but many of these consumer products companies were unhappy with what they viewed as inefficient recycling methods in the province.