Valerie L. Shulman is the Secretary General of the European Tyre Recycling Association (ETRA). The research she initiated in 1989 formed the nucleus of ETRA which was founded five years later. ETRA has over 250 member companies and organisations in 46 countries, worldwide. Dr. Shulman was a contributor to the Basel Convention Guidelines on Use Tyres (1999) and has represented the recycling industries at Waste Policy hearings in the European Parliament. She has participated in numerous research projects, prepared more than 100 articles in scientific and industry journals and authored or co-authored several books on tyre recycling technologies, materials and applications.