Recycling Today archives
At its late-May General Assembly meeting in Copenhagen, the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) announced the elevation of its Plastics Committee to division status, joining the Ferrous, Non-Ferrous, Paper and Textile Divisions with that designation.
“We all understand and recognize the critical importance of recycling, especially when it comes to plastics,” says Alicia Garcia-Franco, chair of the BIR Articles of Association and Internal Rules Committee. “It is time we acknowledge this importance formally.
"This sector attracts significant media attention due to the pressing issue of plastics pollution—a matter that is of global concern and currently under discussion in ongoing United Nations negotiations for a global treaty on plastics. BIR has been very active in these discussions, ensuring our voice and expertise are represented.”
Garcia-Franco praises the “outstanding leadership” of the Plastics Committee Chair Henk Alssema of Netherlands-based Vita Plastics, who is president of the new division and a member of the BIR Executive Committee. He describes division status within BIR as “an important step to further highlight the significance and importance of plastics recycling.”
In another announcement at the General Assembly meeting, BIR Treasurer Dhawal Shah of India-based Metco Ventures LLP said BIR exceeded its budgeted surplus in 2023, even bettering what he called an exceptional result for 2022. According to Shah, the current year will be one of investment, including in a newly commenced study of the environmental benefits of recycling, with a focus on greenhouse gas emission savings and resource preservation.
Additionally, BIR Membership Committee Chair Fadi Shahrour of Lebanon-based Sharmetal Trading Co. presided over the formal ratification of new member companies and national federations, noting that a total of 162 such entities had joined BIR’s ranks since the previous General Assembly meeting in May last year.
That convention in Amsterdam attracted 1,600-plus participants. However, current BIR President Susie Burrage of United Kingdom-based Recycled Products Ltd. says that record will stand for just 12 months, as the final attendance figure for this year’s Copenhagen convention was at that time approaching a record-breaking 1,800.
“It’s been a truly exceptional year, with lots of great initiatives and new projects,” Burrage said at the General Assembly meeting. She described BIR as continuing to be guided by “our unwavering commitment to defending free and fair trade for our industry.”
In the 12 months between spring conventions, BIR has produced a 75th-anniversary booklet that chronicles its history. The organization also has developed position papers on extended producer responsibility (EPR) and chemical recycling, with others in the pipeline on trade barriers and critical raw materials.
As part of her special focus on communications, Burrage has helped initiate a new member magazine called The Recyclist, which focuses on the BIR’s work. Of that effort, Burrage says, “Our intention is to reshape the perception of recycling, emphasizing the vital role our industry plays in a sustainable world, modifying our language to reframe our products as raw materials from recycling and highlighting their critical role in the circular economy.”