Michael Brunn

During the first day of the event, under the section focused on international legislative developments and trends, Juan Ruiz, from Plastics Europe, warned of the critical situation facing plastic production in Europe: ageing infrastructure, rising energy costs, and loss of competitiveness compared to other global regions. Ruiz pointed to the importance of the Global Plastics Treaty as a key tool for establishing common standards to enhance circularity and competitiveness in the sector.

The scene was set by Ritesh Maheshwari of India-based Shabro Metallic Pvt Ltd through his summary of the latest BIR World Mirror on Stainless Steel & Special Alloys. Signs of recovery in Europe's stainless steel market had been derailed by US tariff announcements, and first-quarter financial reports from a number of major European mills had indicated a decline in margins.

Ms Harry welcomed the first speaker, Álvaro Rodríguez, Spanish Coordinator for The Climate Reality Project (ESP) who spoke on the environment and batteries.

Under the theme 'For a Future-Proof Value Chain', the 13th VinylPlus Sustainability Forum 2025 (VSF2025) took place in Paris, France, on 21-22 May 2025. More than 200 delegates from 23 countries attended the event, including representatives from the City of Paris, French public agencies and eco-organisations, politicians and decision-makers, recyclers, retailers, associations, media, and the PVC value chain.

EU countries have substantially improved their plans following Commission recommendations in December 2023. As a result, the EU is closing in collectively on a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as committed in the European Climate Law, and reaching a share of at least 42.5% of renewable energy.  

The new reverse vending machine (RVM) demonstrates the next step in Tomra's Rotake solution: a fully integrated platform for collecting, transporting, sanitizing, quality-assuring and redistributing reusable takeaway containers.

This approach for the sector was essential as cross-border trade pressures were putting sustainability under threat, declared keynote speaker Brian Henesey, Past Chair of ReMA and Vice President of Rocky Mountain Recycling Inc. (USA) at the BIR Paper Division plenary session.

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.

While many of the world's major metals processors rely on shredders in support of decarbonisation goals and material recovery efforts, these same operators face a number of challenges, including a high incidence of fires in material piles and customers' stringent quality demands. Both these issues were addressed at the meeting of the Shredder Committee held in Valencia on May 26.

At the International Trade Council (ITC) meeting on 26 May, delegates also heard that a proposal from the European Commission to limit recycled metal exports to help domestic buyers was causing considerable concern. Tariffs were explored in detail at the ITC in a keynote address by Professor Philippe Chalmin, of the Cyclope consultancy (FRA). Referencing his invitation to address the event, he said: "This is at a time which is very well chosen. It is true, the world is in turmoil with what I call — in comparison with Roosevelt — Donald Trump's new deal and its geopolitical consequences for world markets."