EDITORIAL
3recyclinginternational.com | September/October | 2020
It’s Monday night and this is my final
piece to write for the October issue.
Tomorrow, the magazine will go to
print. The hard work is done; no more
deadlines. Let’s celebrate and have a
beer!
Not this time.
At the time of writing our prime minis-
ter is giving a press conference
announcing new and stricter coronavi-
rus measures. The number of infections
has been skyrocketing again in the
Netherlands, as in many other
European countries. So we go back in
partial lockdown: back to working from
home, back to not visiting restaurants,
back to staying away from our friends
and family.
Again this is bad news for people and
businesses and it does not look like
things are going to change for the bet-
ter any time soon. We all know how
hard the scrap business has been hit by
the pandemic. But I dare to say that
you’re probably better off in the recy-
cling industry than in, say, in the tour-
ism and hospitality industries. We all
know of a café or restaurant around
the corner that has permanently shut
its doors. No customers. No income.
Bankrupt.
But let’s not be too pessimistic. The
sun will shine again some day and who
knows what tomorrow may bring? It’s
good to see that the crisis can drive
the birth of new ideas and business
creativity. This is true in every sector,
including recycling, as the scrap busi-
ness owner on the cover of this issue
demonstrates in a story on pages
26-29.
Finally, I would like to share another
story of optimism. One boring evening,
at the peak of the pandemic, my
daughter’s dog peed on the couch.
She called a cleaning service but they
did not deliver a proper job. ‘That can
be done much better,’ she thought and
decided to launch her own business.
Three months after the start-up,
Cleanmycouch.nl is booming. Last
week she hired a fifth employee.
I wish you all many similar bright ideas
and creativity in these challenging
times.
Martijn Reintjes
Chief Editor, Recycling International
Recycling International
Informaticaweg 3
7007 CP Doetinchem
The Netherlands
Creativity,
optimism and a
soiled couch
Editorial
+31 (0) 88 29 44 800
[email protected]
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03_editorial.indd 3 29-09-20 08:46
