| Ahead of the stakeholder meeting on the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) on 18th-19th June, Bellona Europa, Zero Waste Europe and Rethink Plastic Alliance launch the policy brief "Recycled Carbon Fuels in the Renewable Energy Directive".

| Recycling is a fundamental part of industry today. Metal recycling is not only a necessity for a sustainable industrial model but offers both cost and waste reduction for production and manufacturing facilities.

| The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a surge in demand for medical waste containers.

| The ferrous scrap industry “has great long-term prospects” given the increasingly sharp focus on “green” steelmaking, the BIR Ferrous Division’s first-ever eForum commodity session was assured on June 9 by guest speaker Renate Featherstone, Principal Analyst - Multi-Commodity Research, at Wood Mackenzie in the UK. 

| A recent report from IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute confirms that refinishing hardwood and resilient floors is more sustainable for the environment than replacing the flooring surfaces.

| European Bioplastics has announced the appointment of Joanna Dupont-Inglis as new Head of European Public Affairs. She assumed her position on 1 June 2020 and will be based in Brussels.

| Demand for recycled plastics has been “very weak”, “huge” stocks are overhanging the market and many companies are struggling with “a lack of liquidity”, while at the same time low oil values have driven down prime plastic prices.

| Geomega Resources Inc., a rare earth clean technologies developer for mining and recycling, has announced that Geomega’s patent application US15/578,498 titled, “A system and a method for metallurgical extraction of rare earth elements and niobium,” has been approved for granting by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

| During the General Assembly of European Plastics Converters, Mr. Renato Zelcher, CEO of Crocco SpA, has been re-elected as EuPC President for the period 2020-2022.

| In what amounts to a major win for manufacturers, recyclers, and those purchasing goods with recycled content, the Indonesian government has confirmed the use of a two percent contamination rate for scrap commodity imports.

| Under the theme of ‘Symphony of all Sorts’, Tomra Sorting Recycling has launched two new products – Tomra’s new generation technology Autosort and Autosort Speedair, and also outlined plans for the forthcoming launch of a third new solution, Autosort Cybot.

| The BIR Shredder Committee was “very excited” about its first-ever membership survey into shredder-related incidents and injuries, reported its Chairman Alton Scott Newell III of Newell Recycling Equipment in the USA.

| The German-based Scholz Recycling Group is heading to expand its recycling business in China with the world’s largest aluminum producer Weiqiao.

| The recently presented EU Recovery Plan is a necessary means to helping waste management companies achieve a circular economy across Europe.

| In a wide-ranging review of legislative developments affecting the recycling industry, BIR Trade & Environment Director Ross Bartley opened the first-ever International Environment Council (IEC) eForum by stressing the importance of efforts to ensure that mechanical recycling remained rooted in the definition of recycling, which was currently being debated within the United Nations’ Basel Convention.