BIR World Recycling Convention Week: Association involvement critical in 2020, leaders said

The calendar year 2020 has gained a notorious reputation, with the spread of COVID-19, subsequent economic impacts and additional trade restrictions combining to make profits tough to come by for many recyclers.

In a Monday, Oct. 12, session that was part of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Recycling Convention Week, its President Tom Bird and Susie Burrage, president of the United Kingdom-based British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), both pointed to trade associations as crucial lifelines in the year of turmoil.

Bird indicated the BIR’s preference was to try to hold an in-person rather than an online event, but circumstances “simply do not allow it.” Bird added, “Hopefully we’ll be able to engage in physical events in 2021, but our priority must be to keep members safe.”

In the meantime, Bird said BIR officers and staff have been busy with a number of issues, including recycling and waste-related regulations in Europe; scrap import and export restrictions introduced by various nations; trade disputes, most notably between the United States and China; the economic downturn caused in part by the “stop/start” nature of COVID-19-related shutdowns; and fraud issues being brought to the attention of BIR.

“BIR has been contacted by a number of our members who have had some pretty unpleasant experiences in the past few months,” said Bird, pointing to “all sorts of horror stories” having to do with “being let down by customers” in terms of fraud or lack of payment. In some cases, Bird indicated, there were large dollar amounts involved in the transactions.

A “common denominator” in many of these cases, Bird said, was BIR member companies conducting business with traders they had met in the lobby at previous BIR conventions who they had assumed were BIR member companies or were registered for the event, but they were not. Bird said BIR cannot arbitrate a dispute if one of the companies involved is not a BIR member.

Burrage, who in addition to serving as BMRA president is managing director of Chesham, U.K.-based Recycled Products Ltd., said the lack of in-person interaction in pandemic conditions can be one problem, as is entering into business with nonregistered BIR attendees. “Why would you trust them with thousands of dollars’ worth of metal?” she asked about people who would refuse to pay a registration fee.

Michael Lion of Hong Kong-based Everwell Resources Ltd., who interviewed Bird and Burrage during the Monday BIR session, said the long-held “know your customer” rule has become more difficult because of convention cancellations and travel restrictions.

In the U.K., Burrage said BMRA member companies seem to have largely been able to remain viable in 2020, although some layoffs and processing capacity cutbacks have occurred. She said, on the whole, the industry in the U.K. “seems quite buoyant,” and most of the BMRA’s 18 board members expressed optimism at its most recent meeting.

Burrage endorsed association involvement, saying for business leaders in the current pandemic environment, “it can be very lonely.” She said she has found BMRA and BIR association involvement has provided tangible benefits plus an intangible one in terms of frame of mind. “We tend to boost each other up,” she remarked.

In the U.K., Brexit has provided additional uncertainty. She said BRMA sent an email to its members on Monday advising them to be prepared both for some form of agreement with the European Union, but also the possibility of the U.K. leaving with no deal at all.

Longer term, Burrage said there is a possibility that if the EU puts in place restrictions on scrap materials exports, recyclers in the U.K. could benefit from being outside the EU. Burrage said in 2019 the U.K. generated 12 million tons of scrap metal and 9 million tons of it was exported, so the ability to export is crucial.

The BIR World Recycling Convention Week is being hosted online by the Brussels-based organization Oct. 12-16, 2020.