The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) President Ranjit Baxi promoted the environmental benefits and potential of recycling in the fight against climate change in the framework of the COP21 meetingsduring a 4 Dec. 2015, side event organised by the French recycling association Federec and held at the Grand Palais.
In his speech, Baxi explained that the early results of BIR’s updated report “Environmental Benefits of Recycling” indicate that the CO2 savings achieved through recycling are on the rise: For aluminium, the savings amount to 92 percent compared with primary production; for copper, 65 percent; and for ferrous, 58 percent.
The first “Environmental Benefits of Recycling” report, published in 2008, showed a substantial 500 million tonnes of CO2 emission savings through recycling, which is the equivalent of the total annual carbon dioxide emissions of the global aviation industry.
“We as citizens of this planet earth need to start understanding and realizing that recycling is crucial for all of us and that it can really benefit our planet,” said Baxi.
He also stressed that the figures in the study were rather conservative and that not all commodities had been taken into account. “My personal evaluation is that the recycling industry saves up to 700 million tonnes of CO2 per year, which adds up to several billion tonnes over past decades.”
Baxi said supporting recycling and, by extension, the recycling industry, was a crucial step towards the protection of the climate worldwide. Governments should understand that recycling needs to be encouraged and fostered by facilitating free trade of recyclables internationally, he said. “Substituting primary raw material with secondary raw material saves energy, reduces CO2 emissions and saves resources,” he added.