Australia-based recycling company Sims Ltd. has added mining and metals industry veteran Victoria Binns to its board of directors and has announced the retirement of board member Jim Thompson.

Binns began serving as an independent non-executive director effective Oct.  8, 2021, while Thompson will not stand for re-election at the November 2021 Sims Ltd. annual general meeting. Binns’ appointment has been scheduled for confirmation at the same meeting.

According to Sims, Binns has more than 35 years of experience in the global resources and financial services sectors, including 10 years in executive roles at mining firm BHP and 15 years in financial services with Merrill Lynch Australia and Macquarie Equities.

During her career at BHP, Binns’ roles included vice president minerals marketing, leadership positions in the metals and coal marketing business and vice president of market analysis and economics. She was also co-founder and chair of Women in Mining and Resources Singapore (WIMAR SG).

“As chairman, I’m delighted to welcome Vicky to our board as an independent non-executive director, bringing many years of invaluable financial and organizational experience,” says Geoffrey Brunsdon, chairman and independent non-executive director at Sims Limited. “Vicky’s experience in safety and risk management, finance, strategy and culture, and value creation will significantly benefit the company and its shareholders.”

During his tenure on the board, Thompson played a role in guiding the company’s strategy with his knowledge of the ferrous and nonferrous industries based on a 30-year career at Cargill Inc. He also served as chairman of the Safety, Health, Environment, Community and Sustainability Committee at Sims Limited.

“On behalf of the board of directors, I thank Jim for his guidance and dedication over the past 12 years, including when he acted in an executive capacity following the retirement of the then CEO in 2013,” says Brunsdon. “I would like to place on the record the board’s sincere appreciation of Jim’s long and selfless service to the company, its employees and shareholders.”

Sims Limited describes itself as a global leader in metal recycling, data center IT circularity and as an emerging leader in municipal recycling and renewable energy. The company operates more than 260 facilities in 15 countries.

Switzerland-based ICM AG is accepting registrations for the 20th International Electronics Recycling Congress (IERC). The IERC 2022 event will take place onsite in Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 19-21.

ICM is marketing IERC as “a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face again with your industry network of colleagues, clients and suppliers to gain insights and engage in the most cutting-edge discussions within the electronics recycling community.”

The conference host expects exhibitors in some 50 booths while the program will feature three days of presentations and workshops. More information about the event, including how to register, can be found on this web page.

Later this month, the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) is hosting its first-person event in about two years and the conference is sold out. The BIR Global Trading Forum is Oct. 25-26 in Brussels at the Steigenberger Wiltcher’s Hotel.

BIR says it expects more than 450 participants representing more than 285 companies from 44 countries. “While we are absolutely thrilled to welcome so many participants in Brussels, we unfortunately had to limit the number of additional participants we can welcome at the venue in order to ensure the wellbeing of all participants and in accordance with current Belgian Covid-19 regulations,” states BIR.

BIR also is offering online access to presentations and webinars tied to the Global Trading Forum, with more information available on this web page.

Workers at an Atlanta location of Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling LLC have voted in favor of joining International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 728. According to that union, drivers and other employees “reached out to the Teamsters in early September seeking improved working conditions, higher wages and better benefits.”

Liberty Tire Recycling is owned by Summit, New Jersey-based ECP Management LP, which purchased it from New York-based investment fund The Carlyle Group in a transaction that was announced this April.

As of October 19, there is no comment or reaction from Liberty Tire Recycling or ECP about the Teamsters campaign or the outcome of the vote. A Teamsters news release says the vote to unionize passed “by a more than 3-1 margin.”

That same news release quotes Luis Herrera, identified as a 25-year driver for Liberty and a member of the facility’s organizing committee, as saying, “This win means a lot to me and my co-workers. We fought hard for this day, and we are very happy to be Teamsters. Now that we have our union, we will continue fighting to address the issues that the company has been ignoring for years. It's time for this company to treat its workers right.”

According to the union, Herrera and his co-workers reached out to the Teamsters after “they had gone more than a decade without a raise.” The vote for union representation in Atlanta marks the first group of workers at Liberty Tire to join the Teamsters, says the union.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has received a $160,000 grant from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to fund fire safety education and training for recyclers.

According to the award, ISRI plans to use the funding to provide four hours of fire safety training to 500 employers and workers in the scrap metal and municipal recycling industries. ISRI reports that its targeted audience includes limited-English speaking, temporary and hard-to-reach workers. Training topics will focus on fire safety hazard recognition and will be offered in both English and Spanish.

ISRI says the course is free to anyone in the recycling industry and is being offered virtually on several dates over the next few months. 

ISRI did not provide Recycling Today with details on when this training will be available and if it has an associated cost.

The grant is part of OSHA’s 2021 Susan Harwood Training Grant program. ISRI reports that it will use the funding to revise its existing Susan Harwood Training materials.

OSHA reports that it has awarded more than $11.6 million in grants through the Susan Harwood Training Grant program to 93 nonprofit organizations nationwide. The grants fund education and training on hazard recognition and prevention. ISRI also received this $160,000 grant as part of the Susan Harwood Training Grant program in 2020, which it used to form a “Hazard Recognition in Shipping/Receiving and Loading Dock Areas” safety training program.