Fresh Perspective

Whitney Bullion

Nonferrous Metals Trader at MetalX

With a little less than a year under her belt as a nonferrous trader at Fort Wayne, Indiana-based MetalX, Whitney Bullion has embraced the recycling industry head-on.

A background in grain and lumber trading laid the foundation for her commodities knowledge, though she acknowledges metals have different market influences.

“One of the biggest influencers that I’m glad not to be dealing with anymore in agriculture is weather,” she says. “I think there’s a lot more potential for creative thinking when it comes to the scrap industry and finding homes and uses for the materials. Whereas before, it was pretty straightforward as to what the uses for that commodity were going to be.”

Bullion has worked to make industry connections and took an opportunity to join the Washington-based Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) Women in Recycling mentorship program. As she becomes more established, she hopes to keep growing her recycling industry knowledge.

“I’m very interested in the science side of things and the supply chain,” she says. “Finding new homes and getting creative with [materials], that excites me.”

In the following interview, Bullion discusses career accomplishments and ways to recruit young professionals into the recycling industry.

"There’s a lot more potential for creative thinking when it comes to the scrap industry.”

Recycling Today (RT): What have you accomplished in your career that you’re most proud of?

Whitney Bullion (WB): That satisfaction when you get a new account. … I’ve got one or two guys I could think of specifically that it’s just a joy to work with on a day-to-day basis because as I’m growing and learning, they’re also growing and learning. … We’re sharing information, and it’s cool that they’re transparent and they’re willing to work with me and meet in the middle and figure out things as we go. Being able to take an account from the ground level and watch them grow. Hopefully, a couple years down the road, I can watch them flourish and be like, ‘Man, I remember when they were just one yard, that was crazy.’

RT: How can the recycling industry recruit more young professionals?

WB: I stumbled upon the industry via LinkedIn and was open to it because of my commodities background. So, I think it’s more about the framing of the industry. It’s not glamorous. There’s a lot of industries that are not glamorous. But I think it can give a lot of opportunities to young folks. … [It’s about] getting out there, letting people know we are important, laying out the different job functions ... [and showing] people what [a career in recycling] can look like.

It’s like any other industry. It’s just more about framing the perception [and] bringing people in and then providing the training and getting them acclimated to the industry.

RT: How have you expanded your network since joining the industry?

WB: I knew very little about the recycled materials industry [and] had very few connections. I quickly realized it’s a very large industry, but it’s also very small and very well-connected. Right from the get-go, I wanted to start building those connections and finding allies in the industry. ReMA has been really great, so I decided right out the gate to get involved with the mentorship program. I got hooked up with an incredible mentor for this past year. ... She’s just a wealth of knowledge [and] wisdom—especially coming from another woman in the metals industry, that’s huge. She’s been awesome in helping me navigate that as well.