BIR World Recycling Convention 2025: Paper industry looks to strengthen international standards

During a meeting of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Paper Division this week, the message to attendees was that in the face of tariffs and economic nationalism, recyclers must continue to strengthen specifications and promote recyclables as essential materials.

The meeting took place May 27 during the 2025 BIR World Recycling Convention in Valencia, Spain, which was May 26-28, and included presentations on recovered paper markets, legislative developments and shipping and logistics challenges.

Brian Henesey, past chair of the Washington-based Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) and vice president of Commerce City, Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Recycling Inc., said the global recycling industry was built on “global interdependence.”

“Yet, today, we’re witnessing a steady erosion of that framework,” he said. “Tariffs, export bans and nationalistic policies are challenging the very foundations of our cross-border trade. This is not just an economic issue. It’s the future of sustainability, circular economies and, frankly, global cooperation.”

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Henesey emphasized that the recycling industry is built on “a finely tuned web of global interdependence,” but that tariffs, export bans and “regulatory divergence” are straining that system.

“For decades, the system has allowed material to flow efficiently from where it’s discarded to where it’s needed,” he said. “From the United States to Southeast Asia, from Europe to Turkey, from Latin America to India, these cross-border flows have enabled economies to grow, manufacturers to access affordable inputs and communities to reduce waste and pollution.

“But that system is now under growing strain and, make no mistake, this isn’t just about economics, it’s about the long-term viability of the circular economy.”

The first way the industry can address these concerns, according to Henesey, is to continue strengthening international standards as well as promoting recyclable materials as essential, combating the idea that this material is “waste.”

“Without our industry, there is not decarbonization, there is not circularity,” he said.

Recovered paper market outlook

Several industry representatives also offered insight into global recovered paper markets, with some describing the European market, in particular, as highly volatile.

“The market is moving much faster,” Tobia Umpfenbach, director of Germany-based Alba Werstoff Management, said of the old corrugated containers market, specifically, in Europe.

“The volatility became much more than we have been used to from recent periods and there is a lot of movement within the market. And, of course, what does that result in for us as market players? This results in higher risk exposure for those in the market. It is always challenging that these price hikes and periods of extreme demand that we are faced with are also directly connected or followed by periods where nothing is turning around.”

As far as paper production, Umpfenbach said there has been stability in Europe, with the packaging industry compensating for a decline in graphic papers.

In India, Ranjit Baxi, founder of J&H Sales International, said the government’s focus on boosting literacy in the country has helped paper demand, adding that retail growth is helping box demand, while tissue demand also has been increasing.

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Simone Scaramuzzi, commercial director at Italian company LCI, said India, Indonesia and Vietnam remain the largest importers from Europe.

He also noted paper mills in Europe that are installing or converting machines and questioned if these mills have enough orders to keep the machines running.

“Some of them have already started production, some of them are going to start, some of them are delaying—constantly delaying—but it is a fact that a total of 4.12 million [metric tons] are going to be produced in Europe,” he said. “My question is, do we have all the orders for all these machines? And that’s the point.”

Shipping and logistics challenges

Nuria Rubio, sales and customer manager at German transportation company FR Meyer’s Sohn, said the world is changing “day by day” and even more in logistics.

“Above all, as I see, all we have learned for the past 20 years, all the patterns we knew are not existing anymore,” he said. “The last five years since COVID have been convulsive years as we all know, so we have seen global trade has changed a lot.”

His suggestion to attendees is to be flexible and adaptable when it comes to supply chains.

“Working on diversification of trades and partners will mitigate any impact in this disruptive time,” Rubio said.