Page 43 from: Recycling International November/December issue 2024
43recyclinginternational.com | November/December | 2024
Stephan Karle (Germany)
An advocate of handling scrap as locally as possible, Karle leads
the Karle Recycling business of Stuttgart in Germany’s south-
west. On behalf of steel recyclers body BDSV, he has launched a study to
map the fast-growing number of scrap fires related to lithium batteries that
are causing headaches across the German scrap scene. The study has been
designed to provide recyclers tools for preventing fires. Karle, too, has
been hit by fires ‘many, many times’ with the company spending a fortune
on fire protection and detection.
Tony Wibbeler (USA)
Wibbeler is the founder and ceo of the
US firm Bolder Industries, which special-
ises in tyre recycling. He oversees three locations
in America, with the headquarters in Bolder, as
well as a site in Dublin, Ireland. Wibbeler is proud
of his flagship product BolderBlack, a sustainable
alternative to petroleum-derived carbon black as a
rubber reinforcing agent and a black pigment in
plastics. BolderBlack is produced from post-con-
sumer or post-industrial tyres and rubber scrap.
The ceo is eager to expand his business thanks to
a recent EUR 32 million grant from the EU
Innovation Fund. The investment will benefit
Bolder’s tyre recycling plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
Wibbeler was also ‘honoured’ to launch a special
partnership with the Patagonia brand earlier this
year. His company will recycle wetsuits – around
100 000 of these are sold each year.
Maryam Al Mansoori (UAE)
Al Mansoori is general manager of
Rebound Materials in Dubai. Her com-
pany offers consulting services and a trading plat-
form to boost
plastics recy-
cling across the
United Arab
Emirates. She
describes the
region as a
booming yet
fragmented
market for
scrap and lik-
ens Rebound to the LME, but for plastics. Al
Mansoori enjoys taking on an active role as speak-
er at global events to get the message out and
help bridge the gap between supply and demand.
‘If plastic feedstock can be accessible to a larger
number of buyers and sellers, then the value of the
material becomes an enabler for improved materi-
al recovery and infrastructure.’ The businesswoman
points out that the UAE’s plastic recycling market
is projected to reach 1.5 million tonnes by 2030
and hopes a new wave of Emirati entrepreneurs
will step up to make this happen.
John van den Heuvel (The
Netherlands)
Van den Heuvel is ceo of recovered
paper recycler Peute. In 2022 the company was
taken over by Thai packaging giant SCGP, secur-
ing a supply of one million tonnes of paper. Van
den Heuvel led Peute through the acquisition
while also heading the move to a new facility at
Alblasserdam near Rotterdam, doubling its
capacity. The official opening was in November
2023. Van de Heuvel recently announced to add
a multi-million-euro plastics recycling plant next to the paper facility. ‘We’re
no longer solely a scrap passing through location.’
Daniela La
Porta (Italy
Second generation
to lead Elle-Elle, an Italian
recycling business company
built on solid family entrepre-
neurship. Based near Cesena
on Italy’s Adriatic Coast, Elle-
Elle is a modern, medium-size
recycler handling electric
motors, copper and aluminium. In the coming decade, recyclers in general
and Elle-Elle in particular will have to continue investing in sustainable
operations and smarter technology. ‘It’s the only logical path to follow if we
want this sector to survive,’ Daniela stresses. Asked for the main lesson she
has learned from her father and company founder, she replies: ‘His work
ethic and his passion for the job: always give your best. Scrap is in my
blood and I love it, probably thanks to him.’
Julia Ettinger (Belgium)
Ettinger, previously Blees, is the
secretary general of EuRIC, based
on Brussels. She was appointed in April of
2024, following various other roles at the
organisation since 2018. Blees holds a master’s
in law, which gives her a unique perspective
on the rapidly changing legal landscape recy-
clers work within. She recently travelled to
Kuala Lumpur to speak at the Pulp & Paper
Summit on the ‘far-reaching consequences’ of
the EU Waste Shipments Regulation for non-
OECD countries. Blees and her team wrote to
the members of the EU Parliament to advise
against a preferred method for calculating
recycled content in plastic bottles under the
Single-Use Plastics Directive. She is also using
her platform to help accelerate textiles recy-
cling best practices at this ‘crucial’ time for the textiles value chain.
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Doug Kramer (USA)
2024 was a tough year for the Kramer scrap metal family busi-
ness. In April, Doug’s father Stanley, the founder of Los Angeles-
based Kramer Metals passed away on his way back home from the ReMA
Convention & Expo in Las Vegas. Hours before he died, father, son and
grandson had visited the RI booth (picture). Stanley has been a big exam-
ple for Doug, and ‘we still miss him every day.’
The owner of Kramer Metals and co-owner of Spectrum Alloys, and a for-
mer ReMA chair, Doug Kramer is an experienced scrap recycler. At confer-
ences he never minces his words and speaks easily on hot topics.
Sally Houghton (USA)
Houghton is the director at the Plastic
Recycling Corporation of California. She
promotes the recyclability of polyethylene (PET)
packaging under the Made to Be Remade campaign,
reminding consumers and policy makers that it is ‘not
like any other type of plastic’. Houghton is fighting
to debunk common misconceptions in favour of
‘thoughtful and pragmatic’ reporting about industry
efforts. She is an important voice at the Bureau of
International Recycling and passionately lobbies to
make her home state’s Bottle Bill even better. ‘When
we all pick PET, we win.”
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