MRAI prepares for February meeting in Delhi

The Materials Recycling Association of India (MRAI) says its 2022 annual conference will take place Feb. 23-25 at the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel in Delhi. MRAI calls the event its 9th International Indian Material Recycling Conference.

The conference will present information of interest to recyclers of ferrous and nonferrous metals, plastic, paper and board, electronic scrap, tires, glass and other materials and obsolete items processed and traded in India, according to MRAI.

MRAI says “government dignitaries” from several ministries and bureaus have been invited and attendees will include a mix of circular commodities importers, processors and traders, plus providers of equipment and technology to the recycling industry. “This event will bring trade and policymakers together for interactive sessions,” MRAI states.

Speakers and panelists will be drawn from the corporate sector and will include representatives from international recycling associations and recycling and basic materials industry analysts.

MRAI describes itself as “the apex national association of India, representing the interest of the recycling industry with over 1,200 members, including most regional trade/product associations” spanning numerous recyclable commodities.

Recently, MRAI officer Dhawal Shah told the Reuters news agency that India’s economy is poised to benefit from restrictions on imported circular commodities already enacted in China and coming soon to Malaysia.

Shah, who also is a director with Mumbai-based Metco Marketing and is chair of the Non-Ferrous Division of the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), said that while no nation should be a dumping ground for unregulated and unsafe waste, globally there is large-scale “credible movement of goods, value addition that needs to be done, that can actually help our economy.”

Shah also told Reuters, “The most vibrant recycling economy is when you have complex materials that can be treated in the right way.”

According to Shah and MRAI, India currently uses about 50 scrap as feedstock to make its iron and steel, and nonferrous metals use about 40 percent scrap on average. Of that scrap input, about 60 percent of it is imported, Shah estimates.

More information on the event, including how to register, can be found on this web page.