In Memory of Morten Harboe-Jepsen
It is with great sadness that we announce that Morten Harboe-Jepsen, has passed away following a prolonged illness.
For Morten, Retur was more than a workplace. It was his life’s work, to which he devoted his commitment and considerable professional expertise over many years.
With a background in the recycling industry, he always focused on the functionality of the producer responsibility. It had to be easy for companies, and he devoted considerable effort to applying his extensive knowledge and experience to improving producer responsibility. He advocated for better legislation and practical solutions, but he also demonstrated what producer responsibility could lead to through the recycling facility Electronic Reuse and Recycling, and through the establishment of Retur.
He anticipated the development, and Morten’s vision was to create one unified producer responsibility organisation covering all producer responsibility areas. It is to a great extent thanks to Morten that Retur has become the organisation it is today.
Those who knew Morten during his more than 30 years in the waste industry would describe him as sharp, at times stubborn, and someone who loved a good contract negotiation – and a deal was a deal.
Those of us who had the pleasure of working alongside him at Retur also experienced his warm and caring nature.
Morten was a man who shared himself generously. He shared his passion for opera, his keen interest in military history, his love of good gastronomic experiences, the 209 marathons he completed, and his many stories from his time in the Royal Life Guards. We also often got to enjoy his dark sense of humour over lunch.
Morten also shared his time. He used to say that the door to his office was always open. And it was, even when his own pile of work was substantial. He approached tasks constructively, always looked ahead and had a deep confidence in us as employees and in our ability to solve the challenges at hand. He was proud of Retur and of what we achieved together. We were never in any doubt about that.
It is difficult to sum up a human like Morten in a few words. We will miss him at Retur. His commitment, his considerable professional expertise and his warmth. We know that Morten will also be greatly missed by the many people who have worked with him over the years, helped develop the industry and had the pleasure of his friendship and collaboration.
Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Morten’s family and loved ones.
Morten’s close and long-standing colleague, Poul Poulsen, will from now on take over the management of Retur as Acting CEO.
Poul is the former CEO of Elretur and has an in-depth knowledge of the Retur family, our members, partners and the professional field. Together with the rest of the organisation, he will ensure continuity in our work.
On behalf of the entire Retur family: Elretur, Emballageretur, Batteriretur, Tekstilretur and Fiskeriretur.
Carsten Braagaard, Chairman of the Board – carsten.braagaard@hitachivantara.com, +45 23 38 40 55
Poul Poulsen, Acting CEO – pp@retur.dk, +45 48 88 40 99
Brian Asmussen, Deputy Chairman – bas@gorenjegroup.com, +45 26 34 97 00