An Impossible Task

Conducting research into how the scrap and recycling industries have changed since Recycling Today was born as Secondary Raw Materials in 1963 has proven to be as interesting and rewarding as I had anticipated. However, it also has led to a realization that far too much has occurred to ever fit it all into one special edition of a magazine.

Business empires have risen and fallen, processing technology has made tremendous leaps and entire new industry sectors have developed—in some cases around products and materials that would not have seemed fathomable in 1963.

The rate of growth and pace of change in the industry has been enormous by any measure: the tons of metal and paper collected; the number of people employed and revenue generated; the establishment of plastic, tire, concrete, wood and consumer electronics recycling sectors; the mechanical and automated devices found at recycling plants; the amount of global trade; and the growth of trade associations dedicated to improving the industry.

The good news in overseeing the 50th anniversary issue was finding adequate story-telling material with which to work. Whether on the pages of past issues, in the minds of veteran readers or on the archives of www.RecyclingToday.com, the stories that could be told—and deserved to be told—were seemingly unlimited.

However it also soon became clear that it would be impossible to tell all of these stories. The scrap and recycling industries consist of several sectors, each with their notable personalities, compelling case studies and business trends that either took root or proved to be temporary.

Most of these sectors are filled with family businesses that previously or still do operate primarily in one region. Telling the story of a family in one region may capture some of the flavor of how the industry developed, but it also leaves out unique aspects inherent in other regions.

The articles in the following pages, it turns out, are a long way from telling the history of the recycling industry over the past 50 years. To chronicle those myriad developments would require either several magazine volumes or a reference book of a size that would make the beleaguered paper industry happy.

There is every likelihood that readers of this 50th anniversary special edition will find any number of people, places, organizations or innovations that they hold dear that are not represented in the stories that follow.

For that, I apologize in advance. I’ll also make a suggestion. If you feel these historical accounts can deliver unique value or a new strategic edge to your business, please let us know. We’ll make it a priority to revise and expand upon this concept, for the benefit of younger employees and veteran stakeholders.