As Export General Manager at EMR, Sammy Hunter oversees the final leg of the journey taken by EMR’s sustainable materials in the UK – as they arrive at Liverpool Gladstone and Liverpool Alexandra docks, ready for export.
Listen to Sammy's story in her own words
While life is always busy for Sammy, the pressure of the role increases significantly when a ship arrives to collect material and deliver it to EMR’s global network of customers:
“When a ship arrives at the dock, my team comes into its own. I oversee my team loading the ships, ensuring we meet the terms of the contract we have made and making sure the grades of material we’re loading meet the expectations of the buyer.”
This process takes a huge amount of planning.
“Before the ship comes in, I’ll be given - the ships particulars – informing me of how big the vessel is and the capacity of the cargo holds. This enables me to determine the quantity of sustainable materials it can hold. I’ll then decide, operationally, how we will coordinate ourselves. Material has to be loaded by crane in a careful way, so the ship stays upright and doesn’t go too deep into the water. Then we need to make sure all the material is stowed away safely, so the ship can sail safely during its journey.”
With customers requiring the highest quality materials possible, quality control is a crucial part of Sammy’s role and starts long before ships are loaded.
“We have a range of monitoring and inspections that begin as soon as materials come over the weighbridge. We need to check that we’re not exporting any radioactive substances, that as much wood or plastic is removed as possible and there are no batteries in the shipment. It takes the whole team to work together to make sure the materials we load are of the right quality.”
As technology changes, Sammy and her team are having to maintain the same high safety and environmental standards in more challenging circumstances.
“Just one vape – with its lithium-ion battery – can cause a huge fire and the batteries being used to power electric vehicles are easily 100 times more dangerous, if they’re not carefully handled. We have to be very watchful of the material we process and export.”
For someone who is so dedicated to – and excited by – her job, Sammy began her career with very different aspirations.
“I left school at 16 with the idea of becoming a firefighter. It was a lot of time based in a classroom, and I found it quite boring, so I decided to train as a fitness instructor instead. But I found that to be too repetitive. My granddad was the area manager of a household waste recycling company and said I should try working there for a few weeks. There was a sign on the door at the yard advertising the role of Training Supervisor that would provide all of the qualifications as part of the job.
“It was a chance to learn about the industry, health and safety and environmental protection and I never looked back.”
And, as the next generation of young women begin to plan their careers, Sammy says she couldn’t recommend working in the recycling industry highly enough:
“People tend to have a preconceived idea of the kind of job they should go for, but I would never have thought that I could be responsible for loading huge ships for a recycling company when I left school hoping to become a firefighter.
“I operate heavy machinery, work with a team of great people and there’s elements of finance and IT in my role, too. There are so many opportunities available at EMR that I’d recommend getting a job in a yard, discover what it is that excites you and then follow that.”
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