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THE PULSE
Newsletter of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries
Volume 14, No. 4, April 2009

President's Message | Electronics Scrap | CARI Members | CARI Activities Updates | Fast Facts

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I do not need to tell you how tough business is today. For those of us who have spent entire careers in the scrap industry, we can only compare these challenging times to those seen in the early 1980’s. While we experienced hard times back then, this current economic crisis has had a far reaching global impact. It’s difficult to maintain a positive attitude while we are bombarded with a constant flow of bad news. But self-motivation is crucial during challenging times. I am reminded of the famous words ascribed to football coach Knute Rockne. “When the going gets tough; the tough get going.”

For those in the scrap industry, some of the best places to “go” when times are tough are the events planned and hosted by CARI. Frankly, there are no other events that offer such relevant networking opportunities for our sector. These programs give members an opportunity to meet with many key players at one single location. Additionally, they create the perfect atmosphere to pursue marketing strategies that can lead to an increased customer base.

Rather than viewing such activities as an unnecessary, discretionary expenditure, consider for a moment their real value. How much time would you require to leave the office to visit your business partners? What would be the costs incurred to meet with just ten others in the industry, even in a single province? Attending a CARI function, especially our annual convention, offers the most cost effective way to access industry leaders from across Canada, the U.S. as well as foreign countries. Conventions also offer us the opportunity to hear from experts in our industry who will discuss current developments and business trends.

CARI prides itself in taking considerable time and effort to create and deliver the best constructive programming and networking available to you, our members. These events are a valuable service for all members but those who benefit the most are the “tough” members who continue to demonstrate support for our association by attending CARI events.

So “get going” and reserve your spot at our annual CARI convention. I look forward to seeing you all in June at TABOO Resort in Gravenhurst, Ontario.

Sheldon Jarcaig
CARI President

Click the image above or visit http://www.cowangroup.ca/cari-07 for information.

ELECTRONICS SCRAP

The Saskatchewan Waste Electronic Equipment Program (SWEEP) has just recently posted its Application Process for Recyclers on their website. Any interested member in becoming an approved vendor under SWEEP should visit www.sweepit.ca or e-mail contact {at} sweepit.ca for associated documents and more details.

CARI MEMBERS

CARI Member, Metso Recycling North America is cutting back on shredder noise. The San Antonio, Texas-based scrap equipment maker has collaborated with Germany's Industrie Larmschutz GmbH (ILG), a manufacturer of industrial sound abatement systems, to offer shredder enclosures to customers.

CARI ACTIVITIES UPDATES

Convention

The materials for CARI’s 68th Annual CARI Convention are up on the website. For more information, please visit www.cari-acir.org/en/events.html or contact Donna Turner at (905) 426-9313.

B.C. Chapter

President of B.C. Chapter, Brad Rudover recently announced Harman Dhatt from ABC Recycling Ltd. as the new Vice Chairman. Harman has been with ABC since high school. Over the years, he had taken on various positions – from warehouse to sales. Presently, he is the Scale Manager of ABC Recycling. Harman Dhatt can be reached at (604) 522-9727 or e-mail: harman {at} abcrecycling.com .

CARI Chapter Meetings

During the month of March CARI held Chapter meetings in Nova Scotia, B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. The primary reason for the meetings was to launch the newly completed Human Resource Manual. Jordan Rodney, a principal at Maximum People Performance, the company that completed the manual for CARI, informed members at each meeting about the procedure followed to complete the work. He explained that the manual covers the complete spectrum of H R issues from hiring to firing and from basic guiding principles like human rights, harassment and privacy through to site specific policies. He noted that the final version was in three parts; the first explained the rational for policies and offered example policy statements; the second provided example forms, letters and templates for each policy area; and the third listed relevant government agencies, legislations and regulations. The manual is in an electronic PDF format that can be copied and then customized by each individual member. It has been distributed on a flash drive in the English version and is currently being translated into French for an expected meeting and distribution later this spring.

In additional, Executive Director, Len Shaw advised attendees at these spring meetings of the work CARI was undertaking to address the image of the industry. In particular, he spoke about an article about the sector being prepared for an electronic publication called Energy Digital. He noted that he hoped to follow up by using this information for the publication called the Hills Times which is widely distributed to politicians and government officials at all levels of government. He also mentioned the mercury Switch Out which CARI is promoting as another example of positive image. He encouraged those members who deal with scrapped vehicle, either directly or indirectly, to participate since it is just a matter of time before steel consumers will stop doing business with suppliers who do not ensure mercury free material. Finally he recounted the numerous activities in which CARI is involved to improve the industry’s image and minimize the negative impacts of so called metal theft prevention activities.

FAST FACTS

• The London Metal Exchange has announced that since the launch of its steel billet contract last February, turnover has reached 1.3 million metric tons, around $679 million. Additionally, the LME’s steel committee, at their first 2009 meeting, noted that the volumes have been gradually increasing since December 2008. According to the LME its steel price is fast becoming the industry reference price and industry can be confident that it reflects the market.
  

• Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao signed the Recycling Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Ordinance. The law covers most electronic and electrical equipments but it does not offer a full list of covered devices. The ordinance also acknowledges the environmental damage done by the open burning and acid baths used in metals recovery and actual bans those de-manufacturing methods. Manufacturers and importers of electronics will finance a fund to pay for regulating the end-of-life products. Sellers of consumer electronics are to provide drop-off locations. The ordinance will come into effect January 1, 2011.

• Agri-Plas, an Oregon-based plastics recycler, is converting discarded plastic back into synthetic crude oil. The oil that is reclaimed can be refined for a variety of uses; from makeup to food items, as well as gasoline, diesel and other petroleum-based products. While the three more units expected to be added, Agri-Plas expects to produce enough crude oil to deliver a full tanker for refining every single day.

• Following recent discoveries of radioactive materials in scrap imports, the Indian Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has issued a notification that makes Pre-shipment Inspection (PSI) mandatory for all imports of shredded scrap. This concerns bills of lading dated form March 23, 2009 onwards. Until now shredded scrap did not require a PSI certificate, while all other grades of scrap did.

• As a result of quality issues linked to the import of waste, a new regulation imposing inspection on all waste and secondary materials entering Indonesia will start on June 24, 2009. Containers need to be pre-inspected by the Ministry of Trade’s appointed agency, Surveyor Indonesia. Only SGS & BV were authorized as the international agents to conduct surveys. The agents must oversee the entire loading process. Additionally, the surveyor must obtain a certificate to clear customs from its counterpart in Indonesia. A fee will be applied to this procedure. Indonesia traditionally imports about 3 million tons of recovered fibre and about 4 million tons of metal scrap. Now, an estimated 300,000 MT of plastic scrap will also enter Indonesia annually.