ReMA Holds Successful 2025 Safety and Environmental Conference

The 2025 ReMA Safety and Environmental Conference (ReSEC) ran from Monday, July 14, to Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s conference was co-chaired by David Bestwick of Dominion Nickel Alloys and Rose Sinclair of Casella Springfield Recycling. Jerry Sjogren, ReMA’s Senior Director of Safety, and Holly Brownell, ReMA’s Advocacy and Safety Programs Administrator, helped pull the event together.

During the two-day conference industry leaders, safety professionals, and environmental experts came together to tackle pressing challenges in the recycled materials industry. This dynamic event gave attendees cutting-edge insights, best practices, and regulatory updates to ensure a safer, more sustainable industry.

“We had a great turnout this year,” said David Bestwick, Vice Chair of ReSEC. “What impressed me most about our time together was the engagement we had from everyone in attendance. Not only the questions they were asking the presenters, but also the engagement they had with each other.”

Jerry Sjogren, ReMA’s Senior Director of Safety, agreed, noting that the conference was a great success this year.

“Attendees had the opportunity to network, make connections, share ideas, and learn about new and developing technologies,” he said. “The group was excited, and we’ve been receiving very positive feedback.”

The conference focused on several issues facing the industry including battery handling, storage, and transportation, environmental regulatory updates, employment law updates, and contractor best practices.

“A couple of key things that I took away were gaining a better understanding of the hydrogen-powered vehicles that are coming online and reaching their end of life and the amount of pressure inside the cylinders, as well as the PFAS compliance issues that we continue to work through,” Bestwick said.

First-time attendee Kevin Campbell, HR manager at Harding Metals, Inc. also found the information on PFAS interesting.

“One of the reasons why I went was for the environmental sessions and getting updated information about stormwater and once I got there it didn’t disappoint,” he said. “PFAS contamination has become a focal point for regulators so it’s important for the industry to stay knowledgeable about what’s coming down the pipeline.”

Campbell had been considering attending ReSEC for the past several years. This year, with the encouragement of Eds Harding, Vice President of Operations at Harding Metals, Campbell finally made the effort to attend.

“If you think you’re interested in attending ReSEC next year I recommend starting to plan for it now,” Campbell said. “Whether that’s finding time in your schedule or finding space in your budget so that when the time comes, you’re able to attend, and I know you won’t be disappointed.”

In addition to the informative presentations and networking events, ReSEC also featured a teambuilding activity where attendees could talk through an environmental issue and learn from one another. Attendees were put into small groups and given an environmental scenario. They were instructed to talk through the event, discuss ideas, and then present solutions to the larger group.

“After we presented ideas, we then went to different tables to further our discussion in a new small group,” Campbell said. “The teambuilding was a good exercise. It demonstrates that we’re better as a group. We all deal with the same issues in the industry, and everyone has different perspectives and techniques. You can learn from those ideas and take them back to your facility to improve your operations.”

Bestwick agreed that the ReSEC conference excels in bringing together health and safety professionals from across the industry to share knowledge to make the recycled materials industry safer.

“What I learned from this week from all our attendees was how much progress we’ve made in making our industry safer,” he said. “We’re thankful for everyone taking the time to come and we hope to see everyone again at next year’s conference.”