Recyclers’ creativity is a winner

Recyclers have been told their everyday work offers real opportunities for even greater creativity within the industry.

Creativity was the theme of the keynote address at the start of BIR conversation convention in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 1 June, delivered by Frederik Haren, the self-styled ‘creativity explorer’.

Practical mindset

Haren quizzed his audience to find that two-thirds of the delegates believed they were creative in their work. He said the response was usually less than half (45%).

‘Recyclers are probably more creative than the average [profession]’ he said, adding it may be because of the practical requirements of their work.

‘Creative people are extremely positive – you have to have the mindset.’ He defined the concept as ‘creating something new and better from what you already have’, which connected strongly with the activity of recycling.

It starts with curiosity

The most distinctive character trait of creative people, Haren explained, was being curious: ‘The strong desire to know something is a skill and it can be learned.’