An industry come of age
by Keith Barker
I write this month's letter from behind a coffee shop window located on the outskirts of old Montreal, hands down one of my favourite cities in North America. Recycling Product News is here participating in our 15th Canadian Waste & Recycling Expo, which is being held for the 16th time. More than year’s past, it’s clear being at this year’s event that our industry has in essence “come of age”.
The nature of the work done in the recycling and resource recovery industry will always be tied to a fervent love for the environment and a desire to change our world for the better. But now it’s apparent that things are so much more about the numbers, and the money and the politics that drive a very global economy.
There is a sense that the companies and professionals who are the heartbeat of this industry have a broader perspective than ever on where they fit into the global economy as waste/resource management professionals. Things are becoming more and more competitive every year, which drives the quality and technical complexity of the solutions offered. Companies are more concerned than ever with the challenge of helping communities achieve very specific waste diversion goals. And this is now an industry whose manufacturers and service providers have the experience and the numbers behind them to say specifically – this is the percent of dollar savings we can provide, this is the amount of increased diversion we can achieve, and this is how we’ll do it. And it is being done in more cases than not.
This sentiment is summed up nicely by one of RPN’s oldest friends in the industry, Susan Antler, the Executive Director of the Compost Council of Canada; “At the show, messages are not just unilingual in terms of the benefits and need for waste diversion, but are enhanced with respect to savings in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, fuel efficiency, land resource utilization, local job creation and air and water benefits, etc.”
As far as news on the new products front, from this year’s show, two notables that come to mind immediately are Canada’s first 12-litre Cummins Westport natural gas engine powered waste truck, from Quebec-based ebi (www.ebiqc.com), and an innovative collection cart from a newly formed company called Speed Eco. The new Speed Eco cart, currently in use in Nova Scotia and born from a proven concept in use in eastern Europe, is designed with an elliptical bottom that “sweeps” material out of the cart, resulting in a much cleaner cart after emptying, with a lid that does not slam. According to company owner / distributor Paul Speed, the new Speed Eco design is ideal for cold weather applications and will contribute to increased participation in communities where it is employed.
I look forward to the coming of another year in the waste and recycling industry, and do encourage the readers of Recycling Product News to write to us anytime with thoughts about the industry, comments about our content, or just to say hello.
All the best from the staff here at RPN, in 2014 and beyond.
