The Road to ReMA2026: What’s New with Colin Kelly and Andy Cohen

From April 13 - 16, 2026, the largest recycled materials industry event in the world is heading back to Vegas! ReMA2026 - The Show, Powered by ReMatter is taking over Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and will bring together close to 7,000 industry professionals. Over the course of four days, the recycling community will come together to sharpen their skills, gain knowledge, build relationships, grow their businesses, and celebrate each other.

To help attendees get a sneak peek of what's to come, ReMA News is doing a podcast series on the convention featuring ReMA leaders, members, speakers, and exhibitors all about different aspects of ReMA2026.

ReMA News had the opportunity to chat with ReMA Chair Colin Kelly and ReMA Convention Chair Andy Cohen to discuss what attendees can look forward to at ReMA2026.

What are some new features at ReMA2026?

Andy Cohen: We've expanded our live stage this year. We will have more than just a podcast stage like we did in San Diego for ReMA2025. This year we're separating the live demonstrations and the podcast stage. The demonstration stage will be on the exhibit show floor, so service and equipment providers will be able show off their equipment to attendees. The podcast stage will be right outside the hall in the main lobby of the convention center at Mandalay Bay. That stage will focus on entertainment and podcasting by ReMA members and podcasters sharing their perspectives on the industry, the market, etc. While the demonstration stage will give exhibitors a chance to highlight and profile their equipment, services and brands.

Colin Kelly: We continue to try to give attendees the latest updates and information on the changing market conditions. It's no secret that this is a turbulent time. We continue to find the best speakers we can to provide analysis, updates, and information on subjects that our members need to hear about. If you aren't there, you'll be missing out.

What are we carrying forward from ReMA2025 and what changes are we making?

Andy: In San Diego we introduced the Safety First Plaza. It was outside of the hall, and we saw a lot of people walk through and interact with various safety experts. We will continue the plaza this year as well. Safety remains a core value at ReMA. This year, the plaza will be in the exhibit hall on the show floor and we're planning for it to be larger with more exhibitors.

Colin: We have seen the success of ReMA's safety program for our members, so we want to expand the Safety First Plaza this year. It's a great opportunity for attendees to see what other people are doing in the safety space and that's really what the goal of our convention is-to help connect recyclers with one another and learn from each other so they can adapt to changing times and grow their businesses.

Andy: This year we're excited to provide information about the convention, speakers, and moderators sooner. This will allow attendees to plan their schedule sooner and hopefully more effectively.

What are each of you most looking forward to at ReMA2026?

Colin: I'm excited that we'll be electing our next chair as well as the next secretary/treasurer; those positions are very important for our association and our members. I'm also looking forward to completing my chairmanship. It's a very rewarding experience and involves a lot of work and travel. I encourage anyone who is interested in this leadership role to take time to think about the position.

I've had the opportunity to experience some great meetings such as sitting in OSHA headquarters to sign the next OSHA-ReMA agreement with the ReMA safety team, speaking at the Smithsonian Institute, and advocating for the industry on Capitol Hill. Working for our members has been extremely rewarding. I'm excited to see what new ideas the next leaders of ReMA will bring, and I feel very optimistic for the future of the association.

Andy: I'm looking forward to giving Colin a great sendoff of his chairmanship and deliver a convention that he's proud of, that the board and the membership are proud of, and that anyone in the recycled materials industry will be proud to be part of.

We put together a great show in San Diego in 2025 and everything we learned will make ReMA2026 - The Show more influential to help drive performance at everyone's operations. From the ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday to the closing party on Thursday, I think it'll be a great convention.

One of my favorite moments occurs after the convention when we're heading back home. Last year it was great listening to members talk about the convention, not just in the days and weeks following the event but for months after. I can't wait for that to happen in Vegas, and for people to take back lessons and information to their operations that will help them drive performance in challenging times.

Colin: Andy's right. We do still get calls from people talking about the impact of the man in the yellow tuxedo, Jesse Cole, and what they learned from him. That's what these conventions are about: providing the opportunity to hear about the successes and challenges of other companies.

ReMA has been putting on conventions for years, and we always try to make the next one bigger and better. For many years, ReMA was very fortunate to have Chuck Carr as the association's vice president of Meetings, Convention & Education until he retired in December 2022. He passed away on October 29, 2025. Chuck was responsible for helping to envision and bring our convention to the scale that it is now. He literally doubled the size of our convention over his tenure. We will be thinking of him at this year's convention and feel very fortunate that we had Chuck with us for the number of years that we did.