Back to Newsletter Archives

THE PULSE
Newsletter of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries
Volume 15, No. 12, December 2010

President's Message
CARI Activities | Fast Facts

CARI President Bertrand Van Dorpe, CARI staff Donna, She Kei, and Len and the CARI Board of Directors wish every member, its employees and families, all the best for the holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

This has been another active and demanding year for CARI. There were a number of well attended events. Several new programs were rolled out including the study of Canadian recyclers with Natural Resource Canada and the B.C. Chapter's scholarship.

We started off the year with a condensed one-day safety training workshop featuring John Gilstrap, ISRI's Director of Safety. He covered Safety as a Management Opportunity; Setting Goals and Charting Progress; Work Rules, Progressive Discipline and Employee Incentives; and Safety Inspections and Self-Assessment. In conjunction with the meeting and adding to the CARI arsenal of industry relevant products, a Canadianized version of the Health and Safety manual was made available to all members. The French version has just been completed and is being sent to Quebec members. In addition, all CARI manual documents are now up and online for viewing and downloading from the CARI website. As these are ever green documents they will be amended as necessary over time.

In July, the British Columbia Chapter established an annual scholarship with Kwantlen Polytechnic University of Surrey to help alleviate the financial burden of students who enroll in the Millwright/Industrial Mechanic program. While the primary goal of the award is to support the next generation, the overall objective is to increase exposure to career opportunities in the recycling industry.

CARI retains an intimate working relationship with other sectors on common issues such as the national mercury switch removal program – Switch Out. On the metal theft issue CARI has continued working actively with MicroDotDNA Technology Canada, the police, Canadian Crime Stoppers Association through the program – Operations Hands Off. Most recently CARI protested a possible Alberta bill by writing to all provincial parties and Alberta press.

In 2010 CARI enhanced its relationship with Natural Resource Canada by completing a preliminary study to better define our represent our sector using Google map.

Most recently, CARI has joined 17 other association in the Coalition of Rail Shippers (CRS) to combat the poor rail service issues of CN and CP Rail. A consolidated report was sent to the review panel that is to report to the Minister of Transportation this year. This was followed up with a meeting in Ottawa with the panel.

As always, members can depend on CARI to continue finding ways to save members money and expand and protect their business opportunities. Hopefully, 2011 will be a better year for everyone.

Happy Holidays!

Bertrand Van Dorpe
CARI President

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

CARI ACTIVITIES

Mercury Switch

The Switch Out contest for 2010 has now ended with more participants returning automotive mercury switch-containing pails between January 1st 2010 and November 20th 2010. For winners of the contest, please visit www.switchout.ca. Congratulations to all participants!

International Trade

Just last month, AMM reported that there are suppliers who are willing to engage in customs fraud to avoid paying U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duties. Members are reminded that fraud still exists and to be vigilant when shipping materials oversees. As noted previously, companies need to pay attention when making contractual arrangements for overseas transactions. In most cases payments in advance of shipments is a good practice.

CARI also would like to remind members that there are scammers posing as legitimate companies. This page http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/view.php?pg=fwmailcom lists potential domain names (the end bit of all email addresses) that scammers often use because they are free. They can give the false impression that they are a legitimate business. Members are encouraged to verify contact and account information before any transactions. Be sure to use known sources prior to sending any information.

FAST FACTS

• Zimbabwe plans to join Tanzania and Kenya in prohibiting the export of scrap metals to deter the theft of copper wire and pipes. Many of the country's infrastructures were vandalized due to the thefts of cables and copper transmission.

• China Metal Recycling (CMR) announces a joint venture with Tianjin Pipe in Tianjin, China. CMR will own one-third of the business and contribute roughly $30 million toward the construction and operation of the facility, which totals around $90 million. The facility will process appliances, automobiles among other materials with an annual processing capacity of 5 million tons. CMR hopes that the venture will consolidate the recycling industry in the region, which is highly fragmented with many smaller recyclers. Furthermore, CMR believes the venture will satisfy 36 percent of the demand from the region. The company expects to increase investments, continue consolidating the regional market and capture the growing Chinese market.

• BIR has raised the concern with AQSIQ about the high number of (re) applicants, which have already been officially accepted as 'overseas suppliers' will not get renewed for 2011-2013. On Dec 6, 2010, AQSIQ has confirmed in response to extend the renewal application date by 90 days. This applies to only the 972 renewals because AQSIQ is waiting for additional information from the licensees. These licensees should submit their information as quickly as possible. Additionally, AQSIQ has issued a list (http://www..aqsiq.gov.cn/bsdt/jyjy/jkfwylghqyzc5/jgcx/) of the renewed applications and applications to be approved. AQSIQ indicates that for the 500 licensees who should have filed renewal applications but have not yet filed anything will expire on December 31, 2010 as scheduled.

• Students at Stanford University have designed the Bloom laptop, a laptop that can easily be disassembled by hands. The notebook features a plastic case with a pair of knobs that opens up the system to allow users to remove its components. It comes with a postage-paid envelope behind the display so parts can be sent to a recycling facility. This prototype is bigger and heavier than an average laptop but fulfilling its purpose – to integrate sustainability into computers. There are no plans to market the prototype, but the students hope producers will eventually incorporate some its innovations into their future designs.

• ISRI praises President Obama for recognizing the important contributions of recycling – conserving natural resources, protecting the environment and creating jobs. ISRI further supports the President's call for increased conservation and sustainability, improved recycling efforts, and preparing a national strategy for recycling materials in a manner that both safeguards human health and the environment. The President requested efforts be made to establish an interagency task force charged with preparing a national strategy for responsible recycling of electronics. This national framework set out for the Task Force mirrors ISRI's policies and initiatives focusing on ensuring environmentally sustainable and responsible recycling practices.