NWRA’s FILA/BDE Junior Association Meetings Kick Off in Germany

Instead of holding the annual National Waste & Recycling Association’s Future Industry Leaders Alliance (FILA) meeting in the United States, SSI Schaefer took the opportunity to bring the FILA board and its members to Iserlohn, Germany, to meet with the group’s German counterpart, BDE Junior Association, and to attend IFAT 2018—the world’s largest waste and recycling trade show held in Munich May 14-18.

FILA provides education, networking and mentoring to future leaders to prepare them for executive advancement and professional leadership in the waste and recycling industry in the United States. BDE Junior is the German equivalent—comprised of junior representatives of member companies to meet and promote mutual acquaintance and networking.  

Prior to IFAT 2018, members of FILA and BDE Junior Association are meeting in Iserlohn to discuss the most pressing waste management issues.

On day one, BDE Junior and SSI Schaefer hosted the FILA group of 20 waste and recycling industry professionals at the SASE Convention Center in Iserlohn. Dr. Armin Vogel, executive vice president of Plastics for SSI Schaefer, Gustav Henrik Edelhoff of LOBBE and BDE Junior Association president and Christian Bremer, BDE Junior member and managing director of SSI Schaefer Institute for Disposal and Environment Technology, held a welcome reception, offered a tour of the SASE waste and recycling museum and hosted a German barbeque.

Dr. Vogel provided a brief overview of Germany’s waste management practices and how they differ from practices in the United States. He said he was glad FILA members could come to Germany, and he hopes BDE Junior Association members can attend WasteExpo 2019 in Las Vegas and meet again to exchange more ideas and information about how to tackle the most pressing waste management issues.

Continued coverage of the FILA/BDE Junior meetings and IFAT 2018 will be provided by Waste360.