Fred Nijkerk and Wijnand Dalmijn, co-authors of the Handbook of Recycling Techniques, have been honored as co-recipients of the first Dutch Recycling Award.
Nijkerk—a long-time scrap industry executive, association official and writer—authored the text of the 1995 book, which has been translated into several languages and is sold in more than 80 nations.
He entered the family scrap business after graduating from college before eventually working with Royal Dutch Shell to set up a metals recycling subsidiary for its then subsidiary, Billiton International Metals. Nijkerk has also served as president of the Dutch Recycling Federation and has contributed articles to publications such as Recycling International and Magazine Recycling Benelux.
Dalmijn, a professor at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, provided technical sketches for the book and offered expertise on mechanical separation techniques.
The award was presented to the two co-authors at the Amsterdam RAI Congress Centre by Dr. van Geel, the Netherlands Minister of the Environment.
The government official praised the recipients for putting together a technical book that has sold 7,000 copies and has become “a standard work which is read in the whole world.”