Under the theme “Forging Ahead”, recycling industry heavyweights left Ottawa on June 23, 2012 after two full days of speakers, programs and networking at the Canadian Association of Recycling Industry’s (CARI) 71st annual convention.
According to CARI officials, the 2012 conference was the biggest ever in terms of vendor participation. Some 45 vendors attended, representing industries such as software, insurance and equipment dealers from places ranging from California to Texas, all the way to Canada’s East Coast.
Donna Turner, CARI’s association manager, says it’s important to move the popular annual conference around Canada to encourage new participation.
“We try to move the conference around,” Turner told Solid Waste and Recycling. “We want to try to come back to Ottawa for the conference’s 75th anniversary.”
In 2013, the CARI conference is scheduled to head for Halifax.
Turner, who has been attending the annual conference for 21 years, says a highlight from the 2012 conference included a “very well-received” keynote speech from former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien, whose father was a paper mill worker.
In addition to notable tours and leisure experiences offered by CARI, attendees were also treated to an industry panel that examined the state of recycling in the industries of copper, aluminum and ferrous metals.
The expert panel included Pierre Ricard-Desjardins, director of industry and commodity analysis with the Minerals and Metals Sector of Natural Resources Canada; Mike Southwood, senior consultant with the CRU Aluminum team; Justin Honrath, commodity analyst at CPM Group; and John Zanieski, president of Evraz Recycling in North America.
Approximately 200 delegates attended the conference, including Solid Waste and Recycling Publisher Brad O’Brien. |
