Times of transition

The adage that change is the only constant certainly rings true for material recovery facility (MRF) operators and recyclers handling paper, plastics and nonferrous metals. The last two years have been a time of transition for North American businesses in these sectors as they adjust to changes in China’s scrap buying. MRF operators also are confronting issues related to contaminated and evolving incoming material steams.

The constancy of change will be a thread that runs through programming at this year’s MRF Operations Forum Oct. 16 and the Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference Oct. 17-19. Both Recycling Today Media Group events are in Chicago at the Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile.

The staff at Recycling Today has put a good deal of thought into our programming and the speakers we’ve recruited for these events, and we’re eager to share their insights with our attendees.

While the session topics vary, including dynamic MRF operations, retrofits, community education, alternative markets for mixed paper and domestic investments in plastics recycling, at its core, the programming at both events is about responding to the changing dynamics of the recycling industry in North America and abroad.

Just as the last couple of years have been a time of transition for the North American recycling industry, the staff at Recycling Today has been adjusting to personnel changes that we have recently made.

First, you may have noticed that Brian Taylor has taken on the new role of senior editor, and I have taken on the editor’s role. This change gives Brian the freedom to dedicate more of his time to writing and managing special projects for the group, while I handle more of the long-term planning and personnel management that occur at our main office here in Ohio.

By adding Megan Smalley as our new managing editor, I’ll be able to get out into the industry a bit more than I had been able to when I held this position, which requires a great deal of time dedicated to magazine production. Megan also will report on the recovered paper sector in the magazine and online, so be sure to connect with her if you trade in recovered fiber.

We’ve also added Kelly Maile as our web editor. She will focus on preparing original content for all the Recycling Today Media Group publications’ websites: Recycling Today, Recycling Today Global, Construction & Demolition Recycling and Waste Today.

Both Megan and Kelly have brought a great deal of enthusiasm to their new roles as well as a number of ideas for stories and other forms of content that I’m eager to see them bring to life here in the pages of Recycling Today and on www.RecyclingToday.com.

If you’re attending the Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference, you’ll have the opportunity to meet Megan and Kelly. Please be sure to introduce yourself.