So said Susie Burrage OBE of UK-based Recycled Products Ltd in addressing the recycling body’s latest General Assembly on May 27, during which she and Dhawal Shah of Metco Ventures LLP in India were re-elected for their second two-year terms as, respectively, BIR President and BIR Treasurer.
One of the most meaningful achievements of her presidency to date, she said, had been in reinforcing the BIR Secretariat through the recruitment of five young professionals to provide greater capacity to serve the membership and extend the global reach and impact of the organisation’s work.
Another key development had been the launch of the BIR Academy. Ms Burrage told her audience at the Feria Valencia Convention Centre in Spain. “The Academy, which has been hard at work with several projects, will ensure that knowledge, skills and leadership can be passed on to a new generation of recyclers – fresh blood and fresh thinking for an industry that thrives on regeneration.”
Ms Burrage went on to applaud the elevation of BIR’s Plastics Committee to full Division status – “a milestone”, she said, “that rightly recognises the growing importance of plastics recycling around the world”. And she also highlighted the success of the organisation’s first-ever Textiles Circularity Conference in September 2024, which had attracted more than 100 participants from 24 countries. “This pioneering conference shone a well-deserved spotlight on circular economy developments within the textiles recycling sector – one of the most dynamic and promising frontiers in our industry,” she said.
Additional areas of progress identified by Ms Burrage included BIR’s release of global position papers to affirm the world organisation’s stance on free trade, extended producer responsibility and chemical recycling, and the launch of the BIR Business Digest to provide practical help to members when facing complex regulations and policies.
In the sphere of communications, Ms Burrage highlighted the launch of the The Recyclist – BIR’s first-ever member and stakeholder magazine, designed to offer a new platform to share the world organisation’s news, member successes and critical updates from across the globe. And BIR’s output would shortly include a ground-breaking global study on the environmental benefits of recycling, she noted, which would provide benchmark data highlighting the importance of the industry and thus strengthen its position when engaged in advocacy work.
BIR had also been working to amplify its voice in the public arena. “In just one year,” the President pointed out, “we’ve nearly doubled our LinkedIn followers, growing from 9000 to over 17,000, and increased our posting activity by 45%. These numbers are not just metrics – they’re a sign that our messages are reaching more people and influencing more stakeholders than ever before.”
Such a transformation across a wide range of BIR’s activities was entirely in keeping with an industry known for “continuously moving forward”, she told delegates. “It is in our DNA to adapt, to lead and to innovate. And in the last two years, we have fully embraced that responsibility – not just to remain relevant, but to actively shape global sustainability through our work in recycling.”
In terms of BIR’s twice-yearly Conventions, there had been a bold switch from using hotel-based venues to convention centres in order to offer more space. “These events are now more impactful than ever, providing unmatched opportunities for networking, business development and thought leadership,” stated Ms Burrage. Indeed, she was also able to announce to the General Assembly that registrations for the ongoing event in Valencia had already surpassed the 2000 mark.
Following this move to using convention centres in 2024, the year’s two flagship events – in Copenhagen and Singapore – had drawn record attendances, it was noted by Mr Shah in his Treasurer’s review of BIR’s financial position. These Convention successes, coupled with sustained membership growth, had created an exceptional year for BIR in 2024 and placed the world organisation on a strong financial footing to invest and grow further, he explained.
