Quincy Recycle Attends 2020 Plastics Recycling Conference
Back in February, a few members from our team attended the 2020 Plastics Recycling Conference and Trade Show in Nashville, TN. It was an amazing few days and we want to share some of the highlights from this year’s conference.
Pictured (Left to Right): Eric Savage, Derek Howell, and Nathan Norden
First, a bit of background on what this conference is all about.
The annual Plastics Recycling Conference and Trade Show brings together reclaimers, manufacturers, government officials and other leading sustainability voices from around the world. There are panel discussions and Q&A’s, a massive exhibit hall, and countless opportunities to learn, connect and network with industry leaders.
The main focus this year was on the future of the plastics recycling industry.
For years the U.S. has sent millions of tons of plastics to China. However, in January 2018, China essentially banned imported recyclable materials as part of the “National Sword” policy. The move by China is prompting a lot of thought and innovation here at home. More and more companies are investing in sustainability and other closed-looped recycling systems.
For example, packaging manufacturers, such as those who make plastic water bottles are starting to think more about what goes into their products. They know it’s important that more of their products be recyclable. With that in mind, they are working closely with bottled water manufacturers who use their products as they strive to produce more sustainable packaging solutions. That’s just one example. These important discussions and partnerships are happening across the industry!
Another hot topic at this year’s event was collections.
This is an area of the business that there tends to be a lot of confusion about, especially with consumers. Many of us simply throw our recyclable goods into a mixed-commodity container and leave it at the curb each collection day. Those goods are sorted later at a recycling facility before they can be processed. It is a convenient system for consumers, but it requires significant time and energy to sort these items. This has motivated many in the industry to start thinking more about the collection process and look for ways to make it more efficient in the future.
“We recognized early on that providing mixed-commodity collections for our customers was important. For commercial manufacturers looking to reduce their waste stream, sorting can be a huge and often overwhelming task. It was great to see and hear that so many people in the industry are aligning and starting to look for more outside the box solutions. Awareness is spreading and positive change is coming!” – Derek Howell, Quincy Recycle
Why are conferences like this important to Quincy Recycle and our customers?
With our Plastic Recycling services continuing to expand and grow, it was important for us to be a part of this great event to explore and learn about new trends in the recycling industry. We gain valuable insight into how what we are doing compares to other industry leaders. These conferences help drive positive change and Quincy Recycle is committed to playing a major role.
There was so much to see and do at this year’s conference. We had a great time connecting with many of our existing partners while also having the opportunity to expand our network. Our team is excited about all of the forward-thinking and innovation taking place in the industry. Great things are coming!
Want to learn more about how Quincy Recycle can help you solve your waste stream problems?
We offer a wide variety of services designed to meet your specific needs. Contact us today and together we can make an impact.
What to expect from your Quincy Recycle Reports
Reporting can mean many things in the manufacturing and recycling industries. Technology and customer requests can span a large spectrum of reports. The most important thing to remember in any report is that you are providing data that is important to your customers and to you. This can help improve relationships with customers, employees, and especially our vendors. We value efficiency, effectiveness, and most of all – we value our teams and customers, which includes our vendors. We focus on creating processes and strategies that will create the most positive experience between our employees and vendors.
At Quincy Recycle we pride ourselves on providing our vendors with the most detailed and efficient reporting to help us both be better business partners for each other. So what does that reporting look like? Let us show you.
Dunder Muflin Report Wayne Enterprises Report
When we talk about reporting, we are talking about the processes that allow the most effective communication between all of our functioning parties – vendors and employees alike. Reporting is a great way to compile information during things like ongoing projects and long-term vendor relationships, and most importantly, keep that information organized and presented to our vendors in a way that works for them.
Our most utilized reporting processes are landfill diversion reports, multiple location reports, and excel reports. The types of reporting vary depending on the vendor and their needs. For example, when a truck load comes in from a food manufacturer vendor, they unload it, report what was on the delivery, deliver that to the Account and Logistics Coordinator, and that ALC then creates a receiving report. A receiving report is a formal document of everything that was on that load by commodity, weight, price, etc., and that is all ultimately sent to the vendor in the format that makes the most sense for them specifically.
Some vendors prefer a more intensive form of recorded information, while others prefer no additional recording at all and would like to receive the invoice that comes with the payment. Some vendors get the whole receiver, some want a weekly report. For specific industries, they may just want the weights in commodities, not the rebate, with a download of the quarterly update in Excel with a commodity breakdown.
Whichever way you prefer your reporting is ready to be executed by our team – end of story.
Reporting is very important to us here at Quincy Recycle, as it has become a highly valued practice amongst our Account and Logistic Coordinators. Creating reports, and maintaining those reports, not only improves our accuracy, but it also builds the relationships that we strive for with our vendors.
Not only is reporting important for this reason, but it also allows us to properly analyze information such as how many tons/pounds were pulled out of a landfill and introduced into a recycle or reuse stream. That material or waste did not go into a landfill, which is now a part of the reporting that the vendor will be able to utilize, as well as Quincy Recycle.
Reporting can look different depending on the vendor. We are focused on creating a reporting process that fits each vendors’ needs, as it is not a one size fits all industry! Some clients prefer weekly reporting, while others may only prefer end of month reports.
In terms of who utilizes our reporting processes, as well as why they would need them, let us show you a few examples.
- A food manufacturer vendor that requires a monthly statement for all commodities shipped, weighed, and paid for by Quincy Recycle.
- A soda and beverage company that requires them to use their report format with market pricing on the 7th day of every month.
- A contract packager that wants us to aggregate eight locations into one monthly report which includes all regions of the US.
- A meat and poultry processor that needed a monthly report for landfill diversion while still focusing on the recyclables volume amount.
Our primary focus in terms of proper reporting comes down to one thing: listening. Asking questions and hearing what the needs of our vendors are is the foundation of our reporting processes.
Overall, we strategize by asking the client questions on how they would like to see the reporting, and then following up with questions once they see the reporting to ensure that it matches their needs. We want to make it easy to do business with Quincy Recycle, which is why we are adamant to customize and cater the reporting to the vendors’ needs, whatever that may entail.
Have questions about improving your reporting processes? Contact us today.
Employee Spotlight: Carol O’Connell
Passionate. That’s just one of the terms people use to describe Carol O’Connell. Her enthusiasm for Quincy Recycle is infectious. She helps ensure that the company culture is not only communicated to people internally, but is a big part of how that culture translates to customer service and our interactions with our vendors.
When did you start with Quincy Recycle?
My first day with Quincy Recycle was 7/7/2014 which is easy to remember since 7+7=14.
What was your job title when you started?
I was hired as the Outbound Accounts & Logistics Coordinator for our New Haven, IN facility. I was living in Quincy, IL (my hometown) at the time and a dear friend, Danielle Jacobs, referred me for the position. I moved from Quincy, IL to Fort Wayne, IN for the position and opportunity to work for Quincy Recycle. I’m not a fan of hot weather and Fort Wayne gets quite a bit of snow so it was a good fit! The team at the New Haven plant quickly became like family.
What is your current title?
That is a great question. Short answer: Trainer. Long answer: My hat changes hour by hour and day to day depending on the needs of the business and our employees. My main responsibilities include training new Account & Logistics Coordinators (ALC’s) and Sales Coordinators and covering for said positions when an employee is on a long vacation, maternity leave, turnover, etc. I work closely with two of our largest customers and enjoy building relationships with the various vendors and customers we partner with.
One of the benefits to my position is that I travel to all of our facilities. We have uniformed processes company wide, but what works for one facility might not work for another. I get to share ideas with the teams and brainstorm new processes to make us better and more efficient.
Currently, I am planning our annual Customer Service Summit this September. We bring 40+ team members together from all our facilities for two days to build relationships, learn, laugh and make our QRP/QFP families even stronger and more successful.
If you had to pick one, which Core Value is your favorite and why?
Be courageous & try it! “It’s all fixable” is a common Carol-ism. Our employees are empowered to make decisions and if it works out, it’s a win! If it doesn’t, then we know we gave it a go and move on to the next option.
What was the most challenging thing to learn in your roles?
I came from the home & holiday décor wholesale industry so working in the recycling field was a completely new challenge for me. Learning the QRP Lingo took some time. I recall double drop & hook being the hardest freight lingo concept to grasp and now its second nature. I share with our new employees that it takes 6 to 8 months to feel comfortable and almost 2 years to feel confident in their role with Quincy Recycle. We are here to support them through the learning curve because there isn’t a short cut. There is a lot of new to learn!
What was the most surprising or fun thing to learn?
That the first step to recycling cardboard at a paper mill is to push it into a large blender (pulper) filled with water and chemicals. I’m not sure what I thought the process was, but that was not it.
And the term “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is relevant! I was getting my mail recently and talking to another tenant when he complained about all the junk mail he received. My ears perked up because junk mail to him is $$ to me! Yes, please toss that junk mail into a recyclable container, we will shred it, bale it and sell it to a paper mill who will make it into something new.
What’s your favorite part about working at Quincy Recycle?
Our people are the best of the best. My position involves 80% travel which allows me to visit all of our facilities and get to know my team members. A lot of people have heard me say this and I’ll continue to say it: “there isn’t one person that works for QRP & affiliates that I wouldn’t go out to lunch with”. Ugh oh, did I just open myself up to a lot of lunch dates?
What would you like prospective employees to know about Quincy Recycle?
We are a family (One Team, One Dream, One Family) and we care about your family. Companies will tell you “family first” in interviews, but at QRP we truly mean it.
What are some of your hobbies outside of work?
I really relate to the saying…“You’ve never seen me truly happy unless you’ve gone to a concert with me”. Whether its Coldplay at Soldier Field or Brett Eldredge in a small venue, I love live music.
When I do get home after traveling, it’s time to catch up on any shows I missed throughout the week. I love all things Bravo & Andy Cohen. Southern Charm, Real Housewives, Summer House, Watch What Happens Live, Below Deck – Bravo, Bravo, Freaking Bravo.
I live in downtown Chicago so exploring new restaurants, checking out a neighborhood weekend festival, going to Broadway shows, hanging with friends on their rooftop, anything involving enjoying the city and all it has to offer, I am in!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever read or received?
Received: Do Better. – John Danker
Read: Be here now.
If you had to pick a song to portray the culture of Quincy Recycle, what would it be and why?
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas. It’s great upbeat song!
Working with Quincy Recycle
If you are in business, you know that you can’t do it alone. Even when you are starting out as the single staff person, you probably partnered with a lawyer, an accountant, and others to help your business succeed. The more you succeed, the more people you need as you start to build your team and continue to bring new people and partners into your company.
If you are a company that produces things, chances are that you have a recycling partner, but are they the right partner for you? At Quincy Recycle we pride ourselves on being that right partner for all of our vendors. How can we do this? Because we tailor a recycling program to fit the needs of your operations, rather than forcing you to fit into our mold.
From your first meeting with one of our team members, one thing you will notice is that we ask a lot of questions, and we mean A LOT of questions. Our process has to start with questions so that we can understand how your business functions, where your pain points are when it comes to your waste stream, and only then can we find a solution that fits your needs.
When we partner with you our goal is to find ways to say YES to your waste stream goals. That unique approach means that those solutions take a lot of different forms. For some, it means updating and maintaining equipment. For others, it means being able to have a comingled load. For some it means that we handle all your associated logistics so that you don’t have to think about your waste stream.
Regardless of what your custom solution looks like, there is one thing that all of our partners will have in common. Our entire Quincy Recycle team is here to execute the plan that we create for you. From our drivers to our talented plant teams and our ALC (Account Logistics Coordinators) right on down the line, when you are partner with Quincy Recycle we put our systems to use to solve all of your waste stream problems.
When you partner with Quincy Recycle there are some things you can always count on:
- We begin by listening – we want to understand the full scope of your operational and sustainability goals
- Help you identify equipment needs
- Creation of a customized plan for your operation
- Ensure the plan makes economic sense for your business
- Detailed Reporting
- Prompt Payment
- Excellent Customer Service
Think this sounds too good to be true? Let us prove it to you. Contact us today and let one of our expert team members provide you with a waste stream audit to see how we can improve your bottom line.