As Recycling Grows, So Does the Need for New Strategies, Technology

Kim Kisner
May 14, 2024
Business

In 1995, after graduating from the College for Creative Studies with a degree in industrial and product design and an eye toward bettering the environment, Keith Zendler founded Environmental Services of North America Inc. in Detroit.

Nearly thirty years later, the company retooled and relaunched to focus on waste management and upgraded its technology to help it expand and improve its services and expand its network of partners domestically and globally.

We interviewed founder and owner Keith Zendler to learn more.

Q: Tell us about RecycleMax.

A: RecycleMax is a tech-based reboot of a company I founded in 1995. At that time, we had a plant in Detroit and a fleet of 14 trucks and we were focused mainly on paper and similar recyclables. We now provide the environmentally sound management of virtually all solid and liquid waste materials.

I have always been interested in sustainability from a community standpoint – in building stronger and more sustainable communities through technology. So, I sold the original recycling company in 2008 and started a civic tech company focused on designing an online community network for people and organizations to better work together. Through this company, I launched a multisided SaaS platform with the intent of improving stakeholder communication, collaboration, and engagement to help leaders solve political, health, social, environmental, and economic issues.

Eventually, I realized I could apply this technology to the recycling industry and provide businesses with robust and customized waste management programs that help them meet their sustainability goals and reduce their carbon footprint. So, RecycleMax was relaunched as a tech-based company in 2020.

We use the same technology we offer clients internally for our operations. The crux of the platform is its ability to facilitate a community network and real-time communication. We have used it to build a global network of recyclers and haulers that we can leverage for clients.

Q: How is the industry different now, than in the 1990s?

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A: There was a time when we had to push companies to recycle, and they would only do so if we could show that it either saved them money or at the very least did not incur additional expenses. That is no longer the driver. Companies are doing it now no matter what. That is a surprising shift. We work heavily in the auto industry, and I’ve been amazed at how progressive these companies are and how seriously the industry is taking environmental measures.

Adding to that, until recently, most of our recyclables were shipped overseas, and we relied on China to handle them. A lot of waste was ending up in the ocean. China shut that off and it certainly caused a disruption, but ultimately it made the industry stronger. There are more and more companies being established in the U.S. to handle these materials.

The industry has made a tremendous amount of progress, and it’s exciting.

Q: Who are some of your customers in Detroit and Southeast Michigan?

A: Union Tank Car Company, Detroit Manufacturing Systems, Fishbeck, and Piston Automotive to name a few.

Q: In your experience, what are the challenges companies face with recycling?

A: Education and incentivization. Employees often need to be trained in why and how to recycle and handle their waste materials. It’s also vitally important for individuals to understand the difference they are making. Providing that data offers motivation to continue the momentum toward success.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you see that businesses have with waste management?

A: Participation is probably the biggest challenge. Companies need all employees on board. Training and education are critical to a successful recycling program. There is still a lot of work to do in getting people to take recycling seriously.

Plastic is another big challenge for the industry. There are types of plastics that are not commonly recycled due to the unique resins involved. It can become difficult for companies to manage this.

Trucking and logistics are a challenge as well. Transportation costs can be the biggest component when it comes to recycling.

Q: What are the biggest opportunities?

A: I think there is a massive global opportunity in recycling. And by applying technology, the potential to streamline efficiencies is huge.

I never thought I’d be in recycling for over thirty years, but It’s a wonderful industry. It feels good to be able to help businesses meet their recycling and waste management goals and do their part to better the environment.

Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates on sustainable business practices in and around Detroit.

Kim Kisner

With over 25 years of experience in the development and execution of strategic branding, content planning, and copywriting for brands such as Gatorade, Ford Motor Company, and Under Armour, and published by SEEN Magazine, The Jewish News, and countless health and lifestyle journals and blogs, Kim helps companies, brands, and people tell their stories.

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December 22, 2025 No Comments

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December 16, 2025 No Comments

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Preparing for the AI Energy Era

December 9, 2025 No Comments

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We have the greatest potential for smart-city innovation because our built environment is underdeveloped in certain areas, making the starting point ideal. We can embed smart infrastructure into buildings more easily to enable fluid energy transfer between the grid and the built environment. There’s also a level of openness and willingness here that you don’t always find in cities that are already fully built out. Q: What barriers still slow down the adoption of innovative building technologies, even when they’re proven to reduce waste? A: Integration. That is the barrier for most proven technologies. We also have split incentives in the built environment. Building owners are our customers, but their customers — the tenants — want a better user experience. Then you have utilities, with power-purchase agreements and rate structures that complicate adding new technologies. And finally, the contractors. They’re the ones installing the equipment. 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The next evolution of the built environment here will be people-based — designed around the experience of living and working well. Nationally, we’re at a very interesting moment in energy. For years, the “energy transition” has been politicized, and we’re now looking at it through an economic lens driven by AI. The biggest opportunity ahead is doubling our energy production to meet the demands of AI data centers. The White House recently launched the Genesis Mission — the largest investment in strengthening our national energy reserve to prepare for the new digital era. There’s an enormous opportunity for young people to enter this

Building a Circular Future

December 2, 2025 No Comments

In the manufacturing world, sustainability is increasingly defined not just by recycling, but by what kind of recycling. For PolyFlex Products, based in Farmington Hills and part of Nefab Group, the future lies in creating closed-loop systems where materials are reused for equal or higher-value purposes — not simply “downcycled” into lower-grade goods. PolyFlex, which designs and manufactures reusable packaging and material handling solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, is investing in circularity across its operations. The company’s goal is to ensure that plastics and packaging materials stay in circulation longer, retain value at end-of-life, and contribute to a more resilient supply chain. SBN Detroit interviewed Director of Sustainability Richard Demko, about the shift from downcycling to true circularity, the technical and cultural changes required, and what this evolution could mean for Michigan’s workforce and manufacturing economy. Q: What does “recycling for equivalent or higher use” actually look like in practice — and why is moving away from downcycling so important? A: Circularity, at its core, means manufacturing, recovering, and returning materials at end-of-life back into feedstock form to create something new. It’s about closing the loop — but we have to start with the basics: improving capture rates and diverting more material from landfills. The challenge is that recovery alone doesn’t guarantee success. One of the biggest barriers we face is the lack of demand for recycled feedstock. You can pour your heart into developing a fantastic recycling process, but if there’s no market for that material, the effort falls short. That’s why we need collaborative extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems that stabilize demand and make recycled regrind valuable, instead of punitive frameworks that simply point fingers. No single stakeholder can shoulder all the responsibility for circularity. It’s an ecosystem. Downcycling, meanwhile, is more like an off-ramp — it keeps materials out of landfills for a time but doesn’t truly close the loop. The goal is to return materials to their highest possible value so they can re-enter the economy at an equivalent or higher use. Q: In automotive supply chains, what opportunities do you see for keeping plastics and industrial packaging materials in circulation longer? A: Analyzing packaging fleets at the component level and asking what can be reused, what needs to be redesigned, and what truly has reached end-of-life is a great place to start. Pallets and lids are good examples. Often, those parts can be redeployed across multiple programs if you plan for it upfront. Traditionally, packaging was treated as disposable — once a product launched, everything associated with it ended up scrapped. Now we’re seeing a paradigm shift. Companies are designing for recyclability and reusability from the start. Some are even creating universal packaging platforms that can be shared across product lines. I like to say that carbon has become a kind of currency. When companies invest in reusable packaging, the return isn’t always measured dollar-for-dollar — it’s measured in carbon reduction. Those gains directly support broader sustainability goals, and, in some cases, they even help manufacturers comply with regulations that exempt circular packaging streams from waste classifications. At PolyFlex, we’ve already helped our customers divert several million pounds of plastic from landfills simply by applying design-for-recyclability principles and re-use strategies. It’s a shift toward smarter design — and it’s happening fast. Q: What are the biggest technical challenges in turning used materials back into high-value products — and where is the industry making progress? A: The biggest technical hurdle is consistency. Regrind blends vary depending on their source, and that variability can affect performance. The key is to manage it intentionally — introduce recycled feedstocks in small increments, fine-tune the process, and ramp up gradually. On the positive side, both equipment and operators are getting smarter. We’re seeing tremendous innovation in process technology that allows manufacturers to work with higher recycled content without sacrificing quality or throughput. Q: How do you design a product from the beginning with its second or third life in mind? A: It starts with identifying components that can become standards — like pallet dimensions or lid configurations that can be used across multiple applications. The more we can standardize, the more opportunities we create for re-use. It also requires a macro mindset. Instead of thinking in one product lifecycle, you think in systems. If you’re shipping a component from Detroit to Arizona, ask what can be sent back in that same flow. Can the packaging be refilled, reused, or repurposed? That kind of circular thinking transforms how supply chains operate. Material choice is another major factor. Corrugated packaging might last only a few trips, while plastics designed with the right impact resistance, UV stability, and weather tolerance can circulate for years. It’s about matching the material to its environment and expected lifespan. Q: Are there specific materials where circularity is advancing fastest — and others where it’s still a struggle? A: Rigid plastics — things like pallets, totes, and containers — are advancing the fastest because they’re high volume and easier to process. PET, HDPE, and polypropylene are particularly strong candidates because they can be reprocessed multiple times. Where we still struggle is with single-use, multi-layer packaging — the snack wrappers, films, and laminates that mix materials for barrier protection or freshness. Those layers make recycling extremely difficult. There’s exciting research happening in that space, but large-scale solutions are still developing. Q: What does a more circular plastics industry mean for jobs and skills in Southeast Michigan? A: It means opportunity — but it also means we need education. There isn’t a single university or technical program I know of that teaches recycling as part of its core curriculum. You can find polymer science programs but not recycling operations or circular systems. Training people for this industry is critical. If you lose a skilled recycling technician, you can’t just hire a replacement from a temp agency. It takes months or even years to become proficient. And with plastics recycling, mistakes are costly — something as simple as