May/June 1991
The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries, which holds its annual convention in May, isn’t getting older--it’s getting better, thanks to the heightened commitment of its leadership and members.
The big five-zero. That's right, the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) (Don Mills, Ontario) turns 50 this year, but it isn't entering its golden years lying down. The organization is rising to meet the recycling challenges of the 1990s, addressing the legislative, environmental, and economic needs of its members. In the last two years, CARI has strived to improve its services, resulting m significant gains for its members, says CARI Executive Director Stan Parker.
CARI will be celebrating its 50th birthday at its annual convention, to be held May 5-7 in Ottawa. This landmark meeting will update attendees on the association's activities and revisit issues raised at last year's convention, such as CARI's efforts to gain more public exposure; increase its lobbying influence; establish lines of communication with the media, government, and other organizations; expand membership; and enhance its regional service through CARI chapters. It is fitting that CARI return to Ottawa--its birthplace and the nation's capital--on its 50th anniversary. The event marks an important juncture for the association, a time for examining the past while planning for the future.
A History of Service
CARI was born in 1941 as the Canadian Secondary Materials Association (CSMA). The association was formed at the request of the Canadian government, which needed help promoting the recycling of scrap metal, textiles, and paper during World War II. CSMA's role was to help channel scrap in an orderly fashion to manufacturing facilities most critical to wartime production. Alexander Betcherman, Betcherman Iron & Metal Co. (Ottawa), served as the group's first president, with Egmont Frankel assisting as one of the original founders. Toronto lawyer Norman Levy was CSMA's first executive director, a position he held for 30 years.
After the war, CSMA continued to represent the scrap industry as an informal networking organization with a handful of members. Its purpose was to be a meeting place for the exchange of ideas between scrap businessmen--"all the boys just getting together," as Parker says. Between 1945 and 1960, CSMA expanded its scope beyond metallic scrap sellers. Steel mills, ingot makers, secondary smelters, and scrap exporters were invited to join, malting the association a forum where buyers and sellers could meet. Shortly thereafter, scrap paper dealers and consumers were also welcomed.
The 1960s found CSMA helping its members deal with a nonferrous scrap shortage and a disagreement between scrap consumers and processors about whether scrap exports should be allowed. In the early 1970s, CSMA got involved in the national debate over whether Canada should be declared a bilingual nation, with French becoming the official language in Quebec The association, which had been English-only for years, adapted by offering its membership information in French and English. "We had to realize that English would not be the only language in our organization," says Don Thomas, Federated Genco Ltd. (Burlington, Ontario) and a CARI past president.
Earth Day in 1970 increased public interest in recycling, and CSMA began to educate the public and government about the value and importance of scrap recycling. Part of the association's goal was to alter the public's perception of a scrap plant from a junkyard to a recycling operation. In 1973, CSMA changed its name to CARI to better reflect its role in the scrap recycling industry.
Parker joined CARI as commodities director in 1975, a time when the organization "was becoming more involved in communications with outside organizations, particularly government," he says. Parker, who speaks fluent French and has a master's in corporate and public strategy, helped CARI secure an import duty rebate, an exemption of sorts that saved members money on their purchases of imported new equipment. He also worked on problems related to other import/export issues and workers' compensation costs. Today, CARI still serves on the national Employers Council on Workers' compensation.
In 1976, Parker began sending out a commodities report, which has grown to become CARI's monthly newsletter. This emphasis on expanding communications with members and outside groups continues today. "We now have good communications," Parker says. "We're well known among activist groups and various levels of government. We're never satisfied with our profile, but we've increased it tremendously.” One of the more noteworthy steps the association has taken to achieve more public recognition was the leadership role it played as one of the founders of the Canadian Alliance for Recycling and the Environment, a nonpartisan group of governments, industry associations, and other interested groups, which was formed in the late 1980s.
The association's size has also increased admirably over the years. From the handful of members CSMA started with 50 years ago, CARI has grown to encompass more than 200 member companies that account for approximately 75 percent of Canada's commercial recycling volume, or about 10 million metric tons of metal and paper per year.
Expanding CARI's Role
Today, the association's main concerns are the Basel Convention, provincial hazardous waste regulations, and transportation and environmental legislation. "We've made great strides in holding off the Basel Convention," says CARI President Larry Kummer, London Salvage & Trading Co. Ltd. (London, Ontario). "It's a huge concern for our industry. If [the legislation to implement Basel] went through as originally written it would have shut our industry down.” John Kis, International Iron & Metal Co. (Hamilton, Ontario), agrees: "This has been our biggest challenge for the past year. We must make sure that the Basel Convention will not stifle the industry." With the cooperation of other Canadian trade organizations, CARI persuaded the Canadian government to refrain from deciding on the convention and conduct an impact study of the proposal on the scrap industry. "We take this as a positive sign that the government is at least sitting up and listening," says Kis.
Parker points out that now, more than ever, CARI is serving as "an environmental shield" for its members, protecting them from damaging legislation. In one case last year, for instance, the government passed legislation that hindered the transportation of lead-acid batteries to scrap processors, but CARI managed to secure an ad hoc exemption to allow batteries to continue to be transported for recycling.
CARI has also made strides toward increasing its public exposure and establishing ties with other recycling and environmental organizations. In fact, the last day of CARI's convention--May 7--is designated as Public Forum Day, with the theme being "Recycling for a Clean Environment-A New Partnership." More than 500 individuals are expected to attend, giving CARI a prime opportunity to discuss the scrap industry's past, present, and future and establish a dialogue and partnership among all parties. "Our door is open to everyone who's involved in recycling," says Kummer.
Current and Future Challenges
CARI has made progress in the face of several imposing obstacles, not the least of which is the economic recession, which has slowed membership growth and made current members more hesitant to increase their personal and financial commitments, says Kummer. In addition, Thomas points out, Canada’s large size and its myriad levels of government are almost impossible to cover adequately with a small staff. "Trying to reach all of the various branches of government is difficult," he remarks. On top of that, he says, CARI's current membership base does not provide the funds the organization needs to expand its role.
Parker would like to expand CARI's legislative, communication, and membership services to provide more effective lobbying efforts, answer members' technical questions, and recruit new members. "Members want us to have more counseling capability on environmental issues," Parker says, "and to monitor proposed legislation to mitigate the adverse effects from it.”
Despite the hard work and challenges ahead, CARI and its members are optimistic. "The members are participating much more than they have in past years," says Thomas. "I think that concerns about the environment, health, and safety are ringing home. We have some good leaders in some of the companies now, and these people are making quite a contribution."
Parker concludes, "More than ever before, members see us as providing a service. They're more positive now than they've ever been.”•
--Kent Kiser
The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries, which holds its annual convention in May, isn’t getting older--it’s getting better, thanks to the heightened commitment of its leadership and members.