Tariffs have become an evolving challenge for the waste and recycling industry, reshaping global trade flows, commodity prices, and operational strategies. Explore how recent tariffs are reshaping the waste and recycling industry. This session covers the effects on commodity prices, export markets, and operational costs. Industry experts will share strategies for adapting to market volatility and discuss the future of recycling in a changing global trade environment. Panelists will discuss the ripple effects on domestic recycling infrastructure, the challenges faced by smaller operators, and the evolving landscape for manufacturers and recyclers.

About the Speakers

Robin Wiener
President | Recycled Materials Association (ReMA)

As President of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), Robin Wiener serves as the chief advocate for the recycled materials industry, promoting safe, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible recycling through education, networking and advocacy. ReMA is the trade association representing more than 1,700 companies in the U.S. and around the world that produce high-quality recycled materials that supply manufacturing industries, helping to make the supply chain more sustainable and resilient. Whether it is the cars we drive in and the bridges we drive over, the wires that bring electricity into our homes and offices, the bottles we drink from, or the boxes that bring consumer goods and food into our households, it is the recycled materials industry that is responsible for so many of the everyday items and infrastructure that we all depend upon. It is impossible to go a day – or even an hour – without using a product made at least in part of recycled materials. Under Robin’s leadership, ReMA has expanded its reach and effectiveness within the United States and globally, fostering a culture of collaboration, safety, compliance and innovation. Robin joined ReMA (then ISRI) in 1989 to direct the association’s environmental compliance activities, eventually becoming assistant general counsel and then, in 1997, was selected to lead the organization. ReMA’s work promoting public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the economy, global trade, the environment, and sustainable development has helped the industry continue to grow and thrive, and to be recognized for its essential role in our U.S. and global manufacturing supply chains. 

In addition to her leadership of ReMA, Robin currently serves on the Boards of Keep America Beautiful - Keep America Beautiful (kab.org) (a non-profit that inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment), JASON Learning: Real-world STEM Curriculum available for all classrooms, and the Recycling Education and Research Foundation (ReRF). She also serves on the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR)’s Electric, Electronic and EV Batteries Steering Committee and is a member of the U.S. Chamber Association Committee of 100 and the World Council of Recycling Associations. Robin is a past Chair of the Council of Manufacturing Associations (CMA) within the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and over the years has served on the Boards of SERI (sustainableelectronics.org), the National Recycling Coalition, and Solving for Circularity | The Recycling Partnership; and as an appointee on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Steel (ITAC-12) (a joint advisory group of the White House US Trade Representative’s Office and the US Department of Commerce) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) Advisory Board (2010-2016) (appointed Chair in June of 2014). In 2008, Robin was awarded the CMA Leadership Award to recognize her work promoting manufacturing and associations, and in 2022, she was recognized with the Israel Proler Award, for her leadership, achievements, and contributions to the recycled materials industry. In 2024 she was recognized with the inaugural Great Lakes Regional L.A.K.E.S. award, recognizing leadership, achievement, knowledge, excellence and service. The LAKES award has since been renamed the Robin Wiener L.A.K.E.S. award. In 2025 she was awarded the Inaugural Recycling Leadership Award from the Global Recycling Foundation. Prior to ReMA, Robin was an associate at ICF Incorporated. Robin is co-author of the RCRA Compliance & Enforcement Manual as part of its Environmental Law Series. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Amy Burke, FASAE, CAE
CEO | Solid Waste Association of North America