Tapping into the talent pool

By Tess Kazdin, Digital Editor Published June 29, 2026 Listen to article 0:00 / 8:31 Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2026 print edition of Recycling Today under the headline “Tapping into the talent pool.” © Summer Paradive | stock.adobe.com Labor shortages have concerned recycling firms since before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the U.S. workforce in 2020, and the recycled materials industry workforce, like those of many industries, is aging. According to data shared by the U.S. Census Bureau in December of last year, workers age 55 and older have been the fastest-growing age group in the labor force for more than two decades, making up 24 percent of the U.S. workforce in 2022, up from 10 percent in 1994. The last few years have seen a concerted effort by the recycling industry to tap into the pool of emerging young professionals. Some companies have established technician training programs, while others work directly with colleges and trade schools to offer internship opportunities to students. The Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), headquartered in Washington, has developed its own career awareness program, Recycling Jobs Day, bringing together member companies with local students training in fields relevant to the industry. In November of last year, the association hosted its inaugural Recycling Jobs Day at Nunez Community College in Chalmette, Louisiana. Panelists attending this year’s ReMA Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas, April 13–16, discussed the success of ReMA’s first Recycling Jobs Day program and ways to recruit young professionals into the recycling sector. Shannon Fertitta, executive director of ReMA’s Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) certification program, moderated the session, which included commentary from panelists Stephanie Hajducek, founder of Taft, Texas-based nonprofit This One’s for the Gals; Winston Jarrott, regional general manager for EMR’s New Orleans operations; and Julie Rexford, director of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) at Nunez Community College. Recycling Jobs Day Rexford said a family connection helped ReMA select Nunez Community College for the first Recycling Jobs Day. “One of the members of ReMA had a family connection at our school and contacted us to see if we’d be interested,” she said. “We thought it was a great fit.” The college has a coastal restoration and environmental studies program, which Rexford initially flagged for participation in Recycling Jobs Day. Upon further examination, however, the faculty at Nunez Community College realized the event could apply to multiple programs at the school. “It literally transcends numerous departments on our campus, from heavy equipment to electrical to our business department,” Rexford said. “The aspect that this could service many students on our campus was very attractive in that respect.” The event featured on-campus panel discussions with representatives from Louisiana-based tire recycling company Colt Inc. and metal recycling company EMR, two ReMA member organizations. Fertitta, who lives in the Baton Rouge area, also got the opportunity to speak to students and discuss career opportunities in electronics recycling. “I was thrilled to participate,” Fertitta said. “I come from an electronics recycling background, and there are countless opportunities in the electronics recycling space. Winston was able to come in and talk about the opportunities with metal recycling, and [Kyle Vincent of Colt] was able to talk about the boundless opportunities in tires, so there were a lot of lively conversations and a lot of really thoughtful questions from the students as well.” The event also featured guided facility tours at EMR and Colt, giving students tangible examples of what a day in the life of a recycler might look like. “They could see what it would look like if they worked here, if they clocked in and put on their PPE [personal protective equipment] and worked alongside these guys that were throwing tires in the shredders or working in the receiving area at the metal yard,” Fertitta said. Although hosting tours might slightly disrupt daily operations, Jarrott said investing the time to provide a safe and informative learning experience for the students was more than worth it. “From an operational standpoint, any interference with production is usually not welcomed,” he explained. “But if we’re going to take [hiring] seriously, we have to make it a priority. We can’t complain about not finding good candidates if we’re not actually trying to find them. … I would say the challenges were minimal; it’s just a matter of getting out of my own way and wanting to participate instead of shooing away a distraction.” In addition to giving students an opportunity to learn about jobs in the recycling industry, Recycling Jobs Day provides a unique experience for companies seeking new talent. As a hiring tool, the event can be used to recruit new employees and assess a candidate’s interest in the job. According to ReMA, the first Recycling Jobs Day resulted in 91 percent of the attendees indicating they were “a little to a lot” more interested in pursuing a career in the recycled materials industry after the event. Jarrott attested to this success and shared that EMR had a handful of engaged and interested potential candidates following the event. “The fact that we could bring the students in, and we could actually see their reaction to seeing a real workday—you don’t get that at a job fair,” he said. “You can see who’s interested and who’s not, who’s asking questions, who’s bored already. That’s invaluable information that you can’t really replicate.” Panelists at Recycling Jobs Day, from left: Stephanie Hajducek, Winston Jarrott, Julie Rexford and Shannon Fertitta Photo by Tess Kazdin Raising awareness One of the challenges Recycling Jobs Day attempts to address is the lack of knowledge about recycling as an industry. If students don’t know about the recycling industry, how can they know about opportunities that might be available to them around the country or even in their own backyard? “If we’re not sharing our story, somebody else is, and they’re not being nice about it,” Hajducek said. Hajducek’s nonprofit, This One’s for the Gals, works to help young women and girls with career exploration and workforce development in the construction, energy, manufacturing and maritime industries. “We talk to girls about careers not a lot of people talk to girls about, from skill trades to STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] and everything in between,” she said. While it educates on a variety of STEM careers, This One’s for the Gals has its roots in the recycling industry. Hajducek was working for Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Steel Dynamics when she helped organize a field trip to the company for a group of high school students, specifically girls. Sponsored Content The SENNEBOGEN 360 G-Series: Equipped for today’s work environment Optimal productivity, heavy construction, safety features and operator comfort come together in the SENNEBOGEN 360 G-series telescopic wheel loader, designed for work across the waste and recycling industry. Telescopic wheel loaders manufactured by SENNEBOGEN have a growing presence at transfer stations, material recovery facilities (MRFs), construction and demolition (C&D) recycling plants and metal recycling facilities across North America. Similarly, Hajducek was invited to bring a group of local high school students to ReMA2026 and shared that many of the girls didn’t want to leave the exhibit hall. “They were just floored at all the different things that were in there, and early exposure is so important for our kids,” she said. “We need to share what we’re doing. That’s really what This One’s for the Gals is all about. It’s helping create that connection, being that bridge between industry and our school districts, our communities, letting students know that right outside your back door, there’s amazing opportunities for you to go to work.” Fertitta added that if there’s an opportunity to start educating students early about job opportunities in the recycling sector, then the industry should take it. “Starting as early as not just high school, not even middle school, going even to elementary school,” she said. “Getting in there really, really early is just critical. Kids that young, even in elementary age, are already hungry and interested and want to know how they’re going to change the world.” EMR’s facility is just 15 minutes down the road from Nunez Community College, and Rexford shared that some students hadn’t known the site existed prior to Recycling Jobs Day. “That’s one of the big hurdles: educating people on what we do as an industry and as a company,” Jarrott said. “People drive by us every day and don’t know what we do behind our gates, so breaking that barrier was very exciting for us.” “I heard the conversations [that day] that this is making a difference in the world but also that there’s some really good-paying jobs right in our own neighborhood,” Rexford said. “Just hearing that awareness blossom throughout the day was really cool because many don’t know what exists out there and that the skills that they’re learning could also be applied into these other fields.” The author is digital editor for the Recycling Today Media Group and can be contacted at tkazdin@gie.net. scrapyardelectronics recyclinghiringRecycled Materials Association/ReMAWorkforce Development Get curated news on YOUR industry. 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