Women in Recycling 2026: A leadership conference for an industry under pressure

Preparations are now well underway for the Women in Recycling Conference and Dinner 2026, a flagship industry event held in celebration of International Women’s Day, which will take place on Friday 6 March 2026 at Birmingham Council House.

Run by women, for women, this annual conference has become a vital space for honest, high-level discussion at a time when the recycling sector is undergoing profound change. While firmly rooted in celebrating women’s leadership, the event is unapologetically focused on the most pressing commercial, regulatory and operational challenges facing the industry today.

The recycling landscape is shifting at pace. Policy frameworks are tightening, export markets are under increasing scrutiny, and facility fires and compliance failures are accelerating regulatory intervention. At the same time, many leaders, particularly women, are carrying an unsustainable burden, balancing commercial pressure, regulatory risk and personal responsibility. Women in Recycling 2026 has been designed as both a reality check and a survival guide, offering clarity where there is confusion and solutions where there is noise.

This is not a conference built around slogans or speculation. It is about facts, lived experience and practical insight. The programme brings together industry leaders, regulators and practitioners to explore what will genuinely still work, legally, financially and personally, over the next two to five years. For anyone working in recycling, the day promises to challenge assumptions and fundamentally change how the future is viewed.

The conference will open with a networking reception from 9.00am, followed by a full day of discussion, before concluding with a drinks reception and dinner from 6.00pm. The venue, Birmingham Council House’s Banqueting Suite, provides an appropriately historic and civic setting for conversations that will help shape the sector’s next chapter. In keeping with the ethos of the event, the dress code for both day and evening is simple: whatever makes you feel comfortable.

The agenda tackles some of the most complex issues facing the sector. Sessions will decode UK and global recycling policy, separating what has already been decided from what is still under consultation, and highlighting where businesses should focus their attention, and where they should not. Delegates will gain a clear understanding of whether export models remain viable in 2026 and beyond, with international waste shipments explained without jargon or ambiguity.

The programme also addresses the growing tension around bans, restrictions and red tape, clearly distinguishing law from consultation and rumour, and allowing businesses to plan with confidence rather than fear. Facility fires, contamination, attachments and insurance pressure will be explored in an open and honest discussion about why regulatory scrutiny is intensifying and why turning a blind eye is no longer an option.

A particularly significant element of the event will see industry and regulators in the same room, examining the fractured relationship between the recycling sector and enforcement bodies. This session aims to move beyond conflict, asking why trust has broken down and what a more collaborative future could realistically look like.

Alongside these hard-edged industry discussions, Women in Recycling 2026 recognises the personal realities of leadership. A dedicated session will address the invisible load carried by many women in high-pressure roles, including burnout, overwhelm and neurodiversity. This practical and candid conversation is designed to offer tools for sustaining performance without sacrificing wellbeing.

The conference is open to women at all stages of their careers, from business owners and directors to managers, compliance professionals and those new to the sector. It is also a welcoming space for women working in male-dominated environments who value connection, certainty and shared understanding.

Delegates will leave with a clearer view of upcoming policy risks, greater confidence in decision-making, practical actions to future-proof their operations and a stronger professional network of women who understand the realities of the sector. Perhaps most importantly, they will leave with renewed clarity, resilience and a sense of community.

As the trade body representing the aluminium value chain, ALFED works closely with members and stakeholders across the wider recycling and resource recovery landscape, many of whom are operating under increasing regulatory, commercial and operational pressure. We are pleased to share this announcement on behalf of Women in Recycling, an organisation that is creating an important and credible forum for informed leadership discussion at a critical moment for the sector.

Women in Recycling 2026 stands out for its focus on substance over soundbites – addressing the realities of policy change, compliance risk, market uncertainty and leadership resilience in a way that is both practical and grounded in lived experience. With Nadine Bloxsome, ALFED CEO representing as a Board Member of Women in Recycling, and through ALFED’s wider engagement on policy and industrial strategy, we see first-hand the value of creating spaces where clarity, confidence and collaboration can be built across the industry.

We encourage our members and media contacts to engage with this event and the conversations it is fostering, as they will be central to shaping a resilient and responsible recycling sector in the years ahead.

Nadine Bloxsome, ALFED CEO.

Tickets for the Women in Recycling Conference and Dinner 2026 are now available via Eventbrite. Further details can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-recycling-conference-for-international-womens-day-2026-tickets-1978558063429

Women in Recycling 2026 is not just another industry event. It is a timely, necessary and empowering forum for women navigating an industry under pressure, and for those determined to help shape what comes next.

This article was originally published by ALFED.