Recycling Trade Associations. Most industries linked to commonly recycled materials promote recycling activities by providing information hotline numbers as well as literature on how to organize recycling programs, listings of recycling markets and directories of companies that sell recycled products. Conferences provide an opportunity to network with equipment vendors, potential customers and industry experts. Like trade journals, conferences are also a good place to learn about the latest industry advances and the success and failures of other recycling efforts. Refer to trade journals or contact industry associations for calendars of conferences.
Distributors can play a role both as customers and as sources of information.
Properly approached, distributors can often provide product, pricing and marketing suggestions. Listening does not mean sending out surveys or showing potential customers the product and asking if they would buy it. Instead, listening entails meeting with professionals within an industry to understand all facets of a potential market. Talk to these individuals about their work to ascertain what it is they are trying to accomplish and why, where are improvements needed, and how their business and industry works. Step back far enough to hear what they want to do, whether you like what you hear or not.