BIR Report

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) holds its Autumn Round-Table Sessions in Poland’s capital city of Warsaw, Oct. 22-23.

Autumn Round-Table planners encourage delegates to take advantage of networking and educational opportunities throughout the conference. Registered attendees of the event can attend all plenary sessions, which are offered in simultaneous English, French and German translations. Topics to be addressed during the plenary sessions include paper, plastics, nonferrous metals, stainless steel and specialty alloys, ferrous, tires and media and metal separation. Plenary sessions begin the morning of Monday, Oct. 22, and conclude the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 23.

Attendance at additional sessions, including various committee and board meetings and the Young Traders Group Party, is by invitation only.

Among the networking opportunities available at the Autumn Round-Table Sessions is the welcome reception the evening of Oct. 22, which all registrants and their guests are invited to attend. The Warsaw University of Technology hosts the event, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Built in 1900, the Warsaw University of Technology has hosted many important events in Polish history in the second half of the 20th Century, such as the common session of Warsaw Universities in 1996 in honor of the 400th anniversary of Warsaw as the capital of Poland.

Additional information on the BIR Autumn Round-Table Sessions is available from the BIR’s Web site at www.bir.org.

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) reports that Chinese custom officials are carrying out intense investigations within the domestic nonferrous scrap industry. The Chinese government has expressed the belief that some importers are attempting to avoid paying full duties and other tariffs by means of not properly declaring the values and/or metallic content of scrap.

Anti-smuggling units from various jurisdictions have visited a number of scrap yards throughout China. To secure evidence, customs officials have also requested information from some representative offices of foreign companies.

Because of the intense investigations, there are reports that port congestion has increased, and BIR members report that buyers have been unable to clear customs properly.

The BIR is attempting to find out more information on the export situation, though the association says it refrains from commenting on internal investigative activities

In the meantime, BIR members exporting to China are requested to strictly follow all the rules and regulations pertinent to proper classification, grading and documentary protocol. Details on regulations for shipments to China are available on the BIR Web site at www.bir.org.

The association also stresses that scrap companies based in Europe or that wish to export recyclables/scrap from an EU member state are advised to abide by the recently published EU regulations.