Photo courtesy of BIR
The first-ever Young Traders Committee plenary session was held at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Valencia, Spain, May 27.
Young Traders Committee Chairman Josh Brough, director of JBMI Group Ltd., described the occasion as providing a “call to action by young professionals to present, engage, learn and lead.” Brough, who became chairman in November 2024, emphasized the important part that younger recyclers could play at “a critical moment in human history, a time defined not by abundance but by fragility and ever diminishing resources.” He emphasized the positivity around recycling and said, “Amidst the uncertainty, there exists an industry which is invaluable and the trade body BIR to support them.”
Brough said it was his privilege to represent the next generation of custodians in this vital industry. “Within BIR, the Young Traders Group (YTG) represents 18-to-35-year-olds in our industry, future leaders and changemakers. We need fresh perspectives. If you are a young professional in this industry or know a young trader aged 18-35, register for the YTG. Experiences are not just educational; they are career-defining.”
The plenary session then featured the role of the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the opportunities BIR involvement brings to young traders.
Alberto Xodo, a product specialist at the LME, told the audience about the origins of the exchange, which will celebrate 150 years in 2027, more than 300 years ago in London coffee houses.
Xodo said, “It was very dangerous to ship at that time, so if three ships of copper left Chile, maybe only one would arrive, and all of a sudden, prices would spike.
“So, people looked for safety, and they went to other merchants who were holding copper, for example, and would say, ‘If the ship doesn’t arrive, could I use your copper instead in three months’ time?’ The merchant would say, ‘OK, fine, yes, I’m very happy to help you.
“I’ll charge you a shilling a day,’ or whatever the contango was back in the day, and that’s how futures trading was born. It was simply shifting risk from someone awaiting a shipment of metal to someone holding metal in their warehouse and being paid for the service they were providing to the other merchant.”
Xodo said the LME is a place to shift risk.
“Recently, the LME has done a big push in the recycling sector, and we have launched a set of steel scrap contracts where the most liquid is steel scrap for Turkey, which trades at about one million tons a month, and we also have a used beverage can contract for the U.S. market,” he added.
The plenary session also featured Ben László, head of information technology asset disposal for Finland-based Kuusakoski Recycling, who spoke about hedging in the metal recycling industry. He explained that financial instruments, also known as derivatives contracts, can be considered as insurance contracts against market volatility. He said that within the commodity business, “… the most dominant derivative contract is the futures contract, which is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a certain asset at a predetermined price at a specific date in the future.”
Lucy Thomas, raw materials (scrap) procurement manager for U.K. & Ireland at Norsk Hydro, headquartered in Norway, explained how she uses the LME in her role as a buyer, noting that the LME aluminum price is a benchmark for scrap premiums and discounts. “With customers using it as well, it means that everyone is speaking the same language.”
She recalled how she started her career at Hydro eight years ago in a scrap purchasing program after gaining a degree in international business economics from Manchester University. “I quite often laugh now to think that when I was studying that degree, I never envisaged that I would have been a scrap buyer at the end of it,” Thomas said. She started by assisting her manager in purchasing and has progressed to managing scrap purchases right through to furnace-ready material.
Endorsing the role of the YTG at BIR, Thomas said, “BIR is valuable, not just to have business contacts but also to have business friends.”
Young Traders Committee Chairman Josh Brough, director of JBMI Group Ltd., described the occasion as providing a “call to action by young professionals to present, engage, learn and lead.” Brough, who became chairman in November 2024, emphasized the important part that younger recyclers could play at “a critical moment in human history, a time defined not by abundance but by fragility and ever diminishing resources.” He emphasized the positivity around recycling and said, “Amidst the uncertainty, there exists an industry which is invaluable and the trade body BIR to support them.”
Brough said it was his privilege to represent the next generation of custodians in this vital industry. “Within BIR, the Young Traders Group (YTG) represents 18-to-35-year-olds in our industry, future leaders and changemakers. We need fresh perspectives. If you are a young professional in this industry or know a young trader aged 18-35, register for the YTG. Experiences are not just educational; they are career-defining.”
The plenary session then featured the role of the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the opportunities BIR involvement brings to young traders.
Alberto Xodo, a product specialist at the LME, told the audience about the origins of the exchange, which will celebrate 150 years in 2027, more than 300 years ago in London coffee houses.
Xodo said, “It was very dangerous to ship at that time, so if three ships of copper left Chile, maybe only one would arrive, and all of a sudden, prices would spike.
“So, people looked for safety, and they went to other merchants who were holding copper, for example, and would say, ‘If the ship doesn’t arrive, could I use your copper instead in three months’ time?’ The merchant would say, ‘OK, fine, yes, I’m very happy to help you.
“I’ll charge you a shilling a day,’ or whatever the contango was back in the day, and that’s how futures trading was born. It was simply shifting risk from someone awaiting a shipment of metal to someone holding metal in their warehouse and being paid for the service they were providing to the other merchant.”
Xodo said the LME is a place to shift risk.
“Recently, the LME has done a big push in the recycling sector, and we have launched a set of steel scrap contracts where the most liquid is steel scrap for Turkey, which trades at about one million tons a month, and we also have a used beverage can contract for the U.S. market,” he added.
The plenary session also featured Ben László, head of information technology asset disposal for Finland-based Kuusakoski Recycling, who spoke about hedging in the metal recycling industry. He explained that financial instruments, also known as derivatives contracts, can be considered as insurance contracts against market volatility. He said that within the commodity business, “… the most dominant derivative contract is the futures contract, which is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell a certain asset at a predetermined price at a specific date in the future.”
Lucy Thomas, raw materials (scrap) procurement manager for U.K. & Ireland at Norsk Hydro, headquartered in Norway, explained how she uses the LME in her role as a buyer, noting that the LME aluminum price is a benchmark for scrap premiums and discounts. “With customers using it as well, it means that everyone is speaking the same language.”
She recalled how she started her career at Hydro eight years ago in a scrap purchasing program after gaining a degree in international business economics from Manchester University. “I quite often laugh now to think that when I was studying that degree, I never envisaged that I would have been a scrap buyer at the end of it,” Thomas said. She started by assisting her manager in purchasing and has progressed to managing scrap purchases right through to furnace-ready material.
Endorsing the role of the YTG at BIR, Thomas said, “BIR is valuable, not just to have business contacts but also to have business friends.”
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