What is the role of scrap materials and recycling in the global trade and what do they spell in terms of economy and the environment?

The scrap marketplace has become increasingly global in nature due not only to the rising world population and accompanying urbanisation and infrastructure demand, but also due to the heightened awareness of the benefits of using scrap commodities given the earth’s limited natural resources. Those benefits include the relatively lower price of scrap as compared to most other raw material inputs as well as the resulting energy savings and environmental benefits about which manufacturers and society at large are becoming increasingly mindful. Enhanced technological and transportation systems have also facilitated increased global scrap trade flows in recent years.

As a result, global exports of all scrap commodities during the period 2011-2014 averaged more than 200 million metric tons per year according to trade data from the UN Comtrade database. As the world’s largest exporter of recycled commodities, the United States alone exports some 40 million tons of scrap to 160 different countries worldwide annually. These exports support more than 125,000 good jobs in the U.S. and help strengthen the economy according to a recent study by economic consulting firm John Dunham & Associates. While the benefits of the global trade of scrap are clear to see, the scrap industry, ISRI and our partners continue to educate policymakers and the public about the benefits of scrap recycling and the need to maintain free and fair trade of recycled commodities.

What brought you into the recycling industry, and what led to your interest in the sector to begin with?

Luck! I joined the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) staff in 1989, at a time when I was looking for a job that combined my skills as an engineer with my interest in environmental policy. I had just started law school at night and needed to find a job physically located closer to the law school. My plans were to leave ISRI after I finished law school, but, as they say… scrap got in my blood, I fell in love with ISRI and the recycling industry and never left.

As a woman holding a key position in ISRI and in an industry dominated by men, what has been your experience over the years (including challenges you might have faced)?

While it is true that the scrap recycling industry is male dominated, there are many more women in the industry, and in higher positions, than there were in the past. There is also recognition that in a time when industry, and manufacturing in general, is facing tightness in the labour market, we need to tap every available qualified resource. Women are a huge, important resource for the industry and for ISRI. We also bring unique perspectives and interests, which benefits everyone. Now, having said this, there have still been times when I have walked into a room of people I have never met before and seen the surprised look on their faces when they realize that Robin Wiener is not Mr. Robin Wiener, but Ms. Robin Wiener. You just have to persevere and move forward. If there is any lesson I have learned over the years it is the importance of working hard and not being shy when you have something to say or offer.

We also need to encourage other women to do the same through mentoring and by just setting a good example. My personal hope is that by the time my two intelligent and strong-minded daughters enter the workforce, they will not even be asked what it feels like to be a woman in whatever job they have chosen - whether it is President of ISRI, President of the U.S., or, of course, a ballerina with the New York City Ballet. What job they choose isn’t as important as knowing that they can choose it and, if they work hard enough, no one will stand in their way.

As president, ISRI, what does your role involve?

As president of ISRI, I manage the day to day operations of a 1,300 member international trade association; provide strategic direction for the association; serve as an ambassador for ISRI and the industry to key stakeholders across the globe; and oversee a professional staff of 45. As the Voice of the Recycling Industry, ISRI represents processors, brokers, and consumers of scrap recyclables including metals, paper, plastic, glass, textiles, rubber, and electronics from around the world. With headquarters in Washington, DC, ISRI provides education, advocacy, safety and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the economy, global trade, the environment, and sustainable development.

Would you agree that the recycling industry is in a challenging phase at the moment? If yes, how is ISRI helping promote the sector’s growth and create new marketing opportunities?

Yes, the industry is currently in a challenging phase due to a number of factors including excess global commodity production that has weighed on commodity prices, slower economic growth around the world, in China in particular, and uneven global manufacturing output that inhibits both the generation and demand for scrap commodities. It’s important to keep in mind that both commodity markets and economic growth are cyclical in nature and that scrap recyclers have experienced significant downturns in the past that are eventually followed by sustained periods of recovery.

While commodity prices, which are determined by global market conditions, are beyond the control of scrap recyclers, our industry members continue to focus on improving their operational efficiency and safety performance, diversifying the products that they process and developing new markets overseas. ISRI has been active on all of these issues and more by providing ISRI members with key education and training resources, informing policymakers, the press, and the general public about the economic and environmental benefits of recycling, and promoting open markets and the removal of barriers to free and fair trade.

What is ISRI’s contribution in terms of encouraging communities, particularly the youth to engage in recycling activities and consider careers in this segment?

ISRI is committed to public education and engagement particularly in the communities our members serve. This is especially true of our commitment to youth outreach. To support this commitment, in 2012, ISRI began a collaboration with JASON Learning to develop a primary and secondary school curriculum about recycling. This partnership has presented ISRI (and the recycling industry) with a unique opportunity to not only spread the recycling message to our youth, but also to inspire students to think about careers in the scrap and recycling business, and give them the scientific and technical background that such jobs require. The U.S. in general and our industry in particular need more workers trained in science, technology, engineering, and math. This partnership has enabled us to show students how a career in science, technology or engineering can be put to use in the most practical way to make things that people need while at the same time conserving our natural resources.

What are your key goals in the short term and what are the changes one can expect in this area in the near future?

One of my primary goals these days is to work closely with ISRI’s Strategic Planning Committee to further improve and strengthen ISRI on behalf of its members. We are looking at implementing both small and large changes. This includes: improving the communications flow between ISRI and its members; developing ongoing strategic foresight capabilities within ISRI that would make us better equipped to address challenges and seize opportunities as they arise; and lastly looking at ways to reorganise ISRI’s chapters and divisions for the future so that we can deliver enhanced value to our members through better access to ISRI’s programmes and services, more enhanced networking, more consistent state and local advocacy efforts, investment in leadership identification and training, and providing greater staff resources to help with the administrative and communications tasks needed.

Of course, at the same time we are doing everything we can to continue our emphasis on workplace safety in the industry through our on-site outreach programmes, the Circle of Safety Excellence benchmarking programme, and a multitude of other training resources available to our members around the globe. Lastly, a key goal of mine is to continue to build partnerships at home and around the world so we speak with one voice about the importance of the scrap recycling industry by raising awareness about the industry’s positive contributions to both the global and local economies, to resource sustainability, and to global trade. All this is an effort to ensure that the industry’s issues are addressed effectively and with good speed in the best interests of our members.

What do you love most about your job, and what is the most challenging aspect?

The people – both on staff and within the membership – are the best part of the job. I am very lucky in that I get to meet and work with recyclers from around the world and learn interesting and new things every day... And hopefully help some people along the way. What could be better? Over the years I have developed enormous respect and admiration for the hard working and dedicated women and men of the recycling industry, and I couldn’t imagine working for any other group of people or industry. ISRI has truly become a family for me. In fact I will never forget the story an ISRI member – a woman – told me years ago. I had only been working at ISRI for about a year at the time and I asked her how she enjoyed her membership in the association.

She told me that ISRI was a family to her. She went on to say that if you were away from home and your car broke down, anywhere in the country, all you had to do was pick up the ISRI Membership Directory and call a local member, who would then make sure that your car was fixed and you had a place to sleep that night. That story still sums up for me the generosity and warmth of all the people that make up the recycling industry. And this experience has just been reinforced for me during my travels around the world. The most challenging aspect of the job is what I imagine occupies and challenges managers in any business – personnel issues. Whether it is finding good people, keeping them, or dealing with the sometimes challenging performance issues – it is the hardest part of the job and never gets easier.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Spend time with my family – my husband, Roger, and my two daughters, Jennifer and Alex!