The Recycled Materials Association’s (ReMA) Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Chapter has selected Joel Litman, president and co-owner of Texas Recycling Inc. based in Dallas, as the next recipient of the PSI Lifetime Achievement Award.
In memory of Phil Alpert, this award recognizes individuals for their outstanding leadership, achievements, and contributions to the PSI Chapter and the paper recycling industry. PSI will honor Litman with the award on Thursday, Oct. 24, during the Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference in Chicago.
Joel Litman
“Joel Litman has been a leader in the paper recycling industry for nearly 40 years, serving this chapter and our parent association with dedication and distinction,” said Tamara Mayberry, PSI chapter president and director of sales and marketing at Pioneer Industries International based in Bloomingdale, IL. “He represents the best of our industry, and he sets an inspiring example for the rest of us to follow on all personal and professional levels.”
Litman is the eighth recipient of this PSI award, which previously has honored Stan Litman (Joel Litman’s late father), Johnny Gold, Nini Krever, Ray Petermeyer, Ralph Simon, Crawford Carpenter, and Pete Grogan.
“To look at the list of this PSI award’s past recipients, which includes my father, I’m honored that my name is being added to this esteemed and select group,” Litman said. “I’m very grateful to be recognized for my contributions to PSI, ReMA, and our industry.”
Litman entered the recycling business in 1984 when he began working with his father Stan at his paper and rag recycling company, Daltex Waste Material Co. In 1992, Joel, his brother Craig, and father Stan founded Texas Recycling, a paper recycling company. Since then, Litman has helped Texas Recycling grow from the three founding family members to almost 70 employees while expanding the company’s focus to include metals and plastics. Along the way, he also helped establish a related company—Action Shred of Texas—in the document destruction sector.
Throughout his career, Litman has been an active member and leader within the former Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), now ReMA, as well as the association’s PSI Chapter and Gulf Coast Region (GCR). In addition to serving as a board member for then-ISRI, PSI, GCR, and the Global Recycling Standards Organization (which oversees the Recycling Industry Operating Standard, or RIOS), he was PSI president from 2012-2014 and ran as a candidate for then-ISRI’s national secretary/treasurer position in 2022. In 2023, the Gulf Coast Region selected Litman to receive its Israel Proler Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership, achievements, and contributions to the recycling industry.
The PSI Lifetime Achievement Award in memory of Phil Alpert was formerly called the Phil Alpert Memorial Award. Alpert, a partner in National Fiber Supply Co. in Chicago, was a longtime PSI Chapter participant and served as the chapter’s president from 1986-1988.
