As governments and the public increasingly adopt the “zero waste” philosophy, they look at using the recycling industry as a tool to obtain this standard. The list of new products and materials reaching the end of their useful lives continues to grow, as does the potential for growth in both the number of material types recycled and the overall amount of materials currently recycled.
However, the economic and environmental benefits of recycling will only be realized by a competitive recycling industry. While governments look to build on the environmental and economic benefits of recycling, our industry looks for ways to thrive in uncertain market conditions. Today’s recycling companies must compete in domestic recycling industries, with primary industries and with industries from other nations.
A competitive domestic marketplace fosters entrepreneurial activities and forces companies to continuously look for ways to enhance their competitive capabilities. While most businesses are looking at ways to reduce their operation costs to remain competitive, a few will see this as an opportunity to increase their profitability through innovation. An astute recycler listens to the consumer’s demands and uses them to spot opportunities to improve their business.
Historically, the recycling industry has seen remarkable innovation. Technological advancements in the compacting of materials, new sorting methods and the invention of the modern shredder all changed our industry completely – and for the better. In fact, technological advancement is a significant factor in maintaining a competitive industry. Firms must be constantly looking for better ways of doing things, as well as new things to do.
This type of innovation is not usually brought about by the average recycling firm because it is simply too expensive. Many progressive recycling firms concern themselves with incremental improvements to existing operations. Changes that lead to increased material throughput with existing equipment yield improvements on existing recycling streams, and combined process stages can reduce unit costs and increase profitability.
Because recycling is a cycle, innovation must occur at all points in the process in order for the industry to remain competitive. We could recover every product at the end of its life and still have difficulty recycling it. Thankfully, some leading product manufacturers are participating in recycling innovation through implementing the principles of design for recycling. By anticipating a product’s disassembly, a manufacturer eases the recycling process and increases its environmental and economic benefits. And by using recycled materials in the design of its products, the manufacturer creates the demand-pull that is a major stimulus to recycling, and which will keep the industry thriving.
But innovative designs and new technologies are not brought about and then put into operation on their own. To remain competitive a business’s management must treat the education and training of its employee as a vital component to its success. Companies must ensure that the skills of their workforce are upgraded in keeping with the pace of technological change, and should look to hire employees that have technical capabilities and an understanding of technological innovation. Additionally, management should work with employees to find ways to improve their processes. Those who operate equipment everyday know the process better than anyone else.
A company that looks for ways to innovate not only benefits through more efficient processes and higher quality materials, it also positions itself at the forefront of our increasingly challenging industry.
