EDITORIAL
3recyclinginternational.com | November/December | 2022
‘As an industry, how do we appeal to
the next generation?’ EMR Group ceo
Chris Sheppard asked himself (and a
panel) at the latest BIR World Recycling
Convention. Sheppard, who’s the son
of EMR founder Phillip Sheppard,
didn’t have a magic solution but he did
offer food for thought about some-
thing recyclers and the sector continue
to struggle with: their reputation.
‘We used to describe our industry as
one “you either love or hate”,’ said
Sheppard by way of illustration. ‘So
there lies an enormous opportunity.’ In
other words: there is work to be done
to change the reputation or, to use a
popular buzz word in this discussion,
change the ‘narrative’.
Recyclers all agree they have a fantas-
tic story to tell. Being part of the circu-
lar economy, surfing the sustainability
wave, or helping to fight climate
change all make recycling a potentially
interesting environment for the young-
er generation to work in. And yet, it
seems, the industry cannot get that
message across. ‘If we can connect
the simplicity of the business with the
“green” sustainable message, we
can really make this an attractive
industry to work in,’ suggested
Sheppard.
Another aspect, raised by panel mod-
erator Michael Lion, was ‘we don’t
have a reputation for rewarding peo-
ple’. Rewarding is important, Sheppard
agreed, but at the end of the day peo-
ple want a job they feel good about.
‘It’s for this reason fewer and fewer
people choose to work in the banking
sector.’
It’s clear recycling industry leaders are
getting the message about doing
something to try to change the narra-
tive. One is US recycler John Sacco. He
didn’t wait for campaigns from national
or global recycling organisations but
instead launched his own private mis-
sion, as you can read on pages 8-9 in
this issue. Another individual trying to
make a contribution in her own part of
the world is Jhoanna Rosales, founder
of the first official e-scrap collection
scheme in Ecuador. Her story is on
pages 24-25.
Both, in their different ways, are inspir-
ing narratives.
Martijn Reintjes
Chief Editor, Recycling International
Recycling International
Informaticaweg 3
7007 CP Doetinchem
The Netherlands
The reputation
and the narrative
Editorial
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03_editorial.indd 3 10-11-2022 08:05
