BIR Report

BIR Announces Speaker for General Assembly
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, has invited Haiyan Wang, an adjunct professor of strategy at INSEAD, a top global graduate business school, to speak at its upcoming general assembly session during the association’s 2011 World Recycling Convention & Exhibition, May 22-25 in Singapore.

In addition to her role as adjunct professor, Wang is concurrently the managing partner of China India Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research and consulting organization that creates global strategies designed to leverage the transformational rise of China and India.

Wang has consulted and managed multinational business operations in China and the United States in several industry sectors. Her background includes managing steel imports for one of China’s largest conglomerates and consulting on strategic decision-making, project management and organizational process redesign.

Information on the conference is available at www.bir.org.

BIR Commends Plastic Litter Efforts
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), Brussels, has recognized an initiative by Brussels-based PlasticsEurope to develop a joint action plan to address marine pollution caused by plastic litter.

In a letter to PlasticsEurope President Jacques van Rijckevorsel, BIR Director Francis Veys commends its efforts to reduce plastics debris in the world’s oceans.

The declaration, signed by major plastics industry organizations, is available at www.plasticseurope.org/documents/document/20110330112440-2011_03_30_joint_declaration.pdf.

Metals Associations Express Concern over Russia’s Intent to Limit Scrap Metal Exports
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), based in Brussels, and the European Ferrous Recycling Federation (EFR), also based in Brussels, are expressing concern about steps the Russian government is taking that, the associations say, could reduce the volume of scrap metal exports from Russia to European Union countries.

According to a press release issued by BIR, the two associations have been informed that the Russian Federal Customs Service intends to reduce the number of checkpoints for exports of scrap metal from Russia. The BIR claims that if the project were to be implemented, free and fair access to this material would be jeopardized.

According to the associations, the intention of the Russian Customs Service is to limit the number of checkpoints for sea transport to three, for rail transport to two and for road transport to five. The reduction of checkpoints would slow down the scrap shipments outside Russia, thereby favoring domestic demand, the associations claim.

The suppression of checkpoints at the ports of Rostov-on-Don and St. Petersburg are foreseen, which would cause supply problems for countries such as Greece, Sweden and Spain. Finland also may face similar problems in light of the potential closure of some railroad checkpoints.

“Russia’s technical barriers to scrap trade are not acceptable,” says Francis Veys, BIR director general and EFR acting executive director. “This will increasingly restrict access to important raw materials, which are indispensible for the steel industry and scrap operators in the EU and worldwide.”