BIR CONVENTION: Duranti Welcomed as new BIR President

Fernando Duranti of Italian metals firm Leghe & Metalli International SRL, based in Milan, officially became the new president of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) in late May. He has succeeded American Barry Hunter of New York-based Hunter BenMet Associates

“It is an important day for us Italians and for our national association Assofermet,” Duranti announced to delegates at the BIR General Assembly in Oslo, Norway, on Tues., May 27. “It is a great honor for me to be the first Italian BIR president in 55 years.”

In his remarks, Duranti identified as key presidential aims the increased participation of younger people in the organization’s activities and the development of membership in an ever-widening number of countries. “Most of our problems are the same and we have to combine our efforts to be successful,” he said of international challenges facing recyclers.

In farewell remarks, Hunter said that the role of BIR president had become “a full-time job,” and pointed to achievements in the previous four years including BIR’s improved financial stability and the launch of its upgraded Web site, the International Environment Council and the Young Traders Group.

In other BIR General Assembly news, a recently completed survey has provided information that there is still room for the organization to grow. According to both Hunter and BIR Membership Committee Chairman Robert Voss of U.K.-based Voss International, the survey found there are still a number of international companies not aware of BIR, meaning the organization should address the task of “selling BIR to the new marketplaces,” according to Voss.

Some 39 new members have joined Brussels-based BIR since the previous General Assembly in Monte-Carlo last spring, raising the organization’s total membership to 526, according to Voss. The fact that membership was drawn from 58 countries confirmed BIR as “a truly international organisation,” he added.