Recent BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Hong Kong (22-24 May 2017)

World Council of Recycling Associations:

March 18 2018 - a date for every diary

Recycling “is an untold story” and so the first-ever BIR-organised Global Recycling Day will provide a major opportunity to tell the public, governments and policy-makers about the crucial role played by the recycling industry in “creating a clean and sustainable environment for us all and for future generations”, according to BIR World President Ranjit Baxi of UK-based J&H Sales International.

Mr Baxi chose the second meeting of the World Council of Recycling Associations, held at the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Hong Kong, to announce that the inaugural Global Recycling Day would be taking place on March 18 2018, thus coinciding with the 70th anniversary of BIR’s formation. The intention was to co-ordinate pro-recycling initiatives across perhaps 50 or more countries, he said.

“Recycling doesn’t begin and end in the USA or in Europe; its story needs to be told all around the world,” Mr Baxi declared. He urged all members and national associations not only to consider ways of promoting Global Recycling Day in their own countries but also to seek out partners to support the growth of what would be an annual celebration of the social, economic and environmental positives delivered by recycling.

Between now and next March, BIR would be launching various initiatives and calls to action, as well as approaching a host of potential partners, in order to help build towards the first Global Recycling Day. Information on latest developments will appear on the dedicated Global Recycling Day website.

A succession of high-ranking officials from member organisations of the World Council attended the meeting in Hong Kong and offered their heartfelt praise for the Global Recycling Day initiative. Brian Shine, Chair-Elect of the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, hailed it as “a big step in promoting the industry’s image” while Salam Sharif, President of the Bureau of Middle East Recycling and Chairman of BIR’s Ambassadors Committee, welcomed the opportunity it would provide to send out a “loud and clear” message about the recycling industry’s environmental contribution. He went on to suggest that recyclers around the world should sign off all their emails with a note underlining their personal commitment to the March 18 initiative - an “excellent” promotional idea, said   Mr Baxi.

Delegates from China, India, Canada, the UK and Poland also offered their own messages of support for Global Recycling Day.

As part of its mission to promote research that generates hard data in support of the recycling industry’s contribution, the World Council would be looking to commission separate studies on recycling’s economic and social benefits, Mr Baxi revealed. The new body, which he again described as “the United Nations of Recycling”, would also be approaching the Chinese government for a dialogue to clarify the practical implications for recyclables trading of its National Sword import control initiative.