Andrew Lincoln Gets the LAKES Award

By Siam Sukkhee Trading Co., Ltd — 2026-09-08 — ISRI (Institute of Scrap)

Andrew Lincoln accepted a significant award in Sandusky, Ohio in August. The Robin K. Wiener LAKES Award, as far as I can tell, is the kind of recognition that lands quietly but means something concrete in your industry.

Lincoln runs Lincoln Recycling in Erie, Pennsylvania. Third-generation in the business. Twenty-five years at it, more or less, across everything from human resources to operations to trading to the compliance side.

He started young.

As a kid he was weighing customers' material. Once he got his driver's license, he was out collecting UBCs—those uncrushed beverage cans—from local bars. That's not some sentimental origin story. That's what the work looks like at the bottom.

He went to the University of New Hampshire, did the economics degree, skied at Division I. Then an MBA from Babson. Actually, that's not quite right—he went to Babson, then came back to Erie to join the family shop. Most people who leave like that don't come back. He did.

The LAKES award itself stands for Leadership, Achievement, Knowledge, Excellence and Service. Named after Robin Wiener, ReMA's president, who received it first. Lincoln is the third recipient overall, which means the award is still young enough to matter without being decorative.

ReMA—the Recycled Materials Association, formerly ISRI—presents it through its Great Lakes regional chapters. The thing explicitly recognizes someone who shows up both at work and in the community.

In Lincoln's case that means serving on boards. The Sisters of Saint Joseph Neighborhood Network. The Erie Cemetery Association. Previously Junior Achievement of Northwestern Pennsylvania. He runs an annual Earth Day coloring contest for elementary kids. "What Recycling Means to Me." Seven grades of kids entering, which is tiny in the scheme of things and entirely real.

Within the industry itself, he's held real positions. President of the Pittsburgh ReMA chapter. Co-chair of the State Legislative Subcommittee. Finance Committee work at the national level. He worked with ReMA chapters to set up the Great Lakes Regional Conference—three days, brings the people in, still running.

This is the kind of person recycling wants. Someone who learned the floor, took the education seriously, came back, showed up both places.

Whether you're tracking metals or anything else, that pattern holds.

Source: "The award, presented by the ReMA Great Lakes Regional affiliated Chapters, was created to recognize a ReMA leader who has positively impacted their professional and personal communities." — Waste Advantage Magazine

Tags: metal scrap recycling industry