Our End Markets committee has historically been one of our most popular and most well attended committees. Dedicated to finding end markets for recyclers, this committee has been on the forefront of highlighting new technologies and advancements for the use of recovered materials. Finding end markets is critical for recyclers because there is no use in harvesting a material if you are not able to do anything with it. People might be surprised to hear that end markets impact all of our members at some level. For example, if you are a contractor or government entity looking to increase your recycling diversion numbers, even the best equipped and well intentioned recycler will struggle if there is no outlet for material in their geographic area or logistically within range of their facility.
As an industry expert, Will Hancock, Chair of this committee, recognized that yes, end markets are critical, but so is a facility’s ability to operationally recover and process material into a viable, marketable product. This insight has created an opportunity for us to grow to better meet our member’s needs. Earlier this year, this committee was renamed, End Markets and Operations committee to reflect the expanded educational opportunities this committee will be offering going forward.
This change was so well received, especially by vendors and industry partners who would like to make members aware of the opportunities and innovations they can provide. Even in this education only environment, as knowledge is exchanged and relationships are built, this is a perfect example of how important associations are to providing membership growth at all levels. Because of the amazing response we have received, we initiated the Innovations and Advancement Spotlight that will start Q1 of 2026, introduced in last month’s newsletter. This platform will allow members an additional opportunity to share everything from engineering and technical advancements, to process improvements, safety innovations, training improvements, better hiring techniques, community engagement opportunities, marketing advancements, policy advancements, you name it. We don’t want to limit this.
If you have interest in presenting at one of the Operation and End Market committee meetings or one of the Innovations and Advancement Spotlights in 2026, please reach out to either Will Hancock at whancock@oem-florida.com or ajohnson@cdrecycling.org we would love to hear from you.