This Issue in Scrap

January/February 2012
Market Forecast

Riding the Wave of Uncertainty
Last year’s daunting economic turbulence seems likely to continue, causing recyclers to worry about their 2012 prospects. By Joe Pickard

Odd Couple, or Perfect Match?
Scrap processors can find opportunity in the demolition industry, but they must
understand how it differs from scrap to succeed. By Jim Fowler

Opportunity Underfoot
Recovered carpet is a small but growing recycling market, thanks to state mandates, today’s “green” ethic, and the growing popularity of LEED certification. By Ellen Ryan

ISRI 2012 Convention Preview
ISRI returns to Las Vegas with a show that promises a big-name speaker (a former president, no less) as well as the world’s largest scrap industry exposition.

Report: CMRA Conference—A Strategic Recycling Move
With China’s secondary nonferrous metal sector now a “strategic industry,” scrap importers and processors are seeing greater economic and environmental scrutiny. By Adam Minter

Safety Series: The Tipping Point
Employees who work with or around bales must know how to manage the potential hazards they pose during storage, handling, loading, unloading, and transport. By Diana Mota

Equipment Focus: Baler Wire-Tie Systems
Recyclers can get the most from their automatic baler wire-tie systems if they know certain technical, maintenance, and baling wire basics. By Theodore Fischer

Scrapbook: China’s Scrap Plastics Revisited
A Chinese government crackdown on the largest plastic recycling area in the north could prompt processors to clean up their environmental act—or simply to relocate.
By Adam Minter

Report: BIR Munich—Sturm und Drang
The market reports at BIR’s fall meeting in Munich were full of angst and uncertainty, as scrap traders worried about the tenuous state of economies around the globe. By Kent Kiser and Joe Pickard