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The last two years had been “truly exceptional” for BIR, with particularly notable progress in strengthening the world organisation’s resources and structure, in expanding its educational footprint, in growing its targeted communications output and in creating the right conditions to grow its acclaimed twice-yearly Conventions.

The latest World Shredder List compiled by BIR indicates a global total of 1229 machines of 1000 HP or larger. According to BIR Shredder Committee Chairman Alton Scott Newell III of US-based Newell Recycling Equipment, this figure comprises 322 installations in the USA, 267 in the EU/EFTA and 640 throughout the rest of the world — including 380 in China, 110 in Japan, 29 in the UK, 27 in Canada and 25 in Mexico.

Against a background of global concerns about trade tariffs put in place and planned by the US administration, the BIR World Recycling Convention in Valencia has heard that eventually a 10% tariff level might prevail.

Despite impending mandates and ambitious corporate targets, chemical recycling in Europe remains nascent today, mostly due to unattractive economics. A new report published by Bain & Company revealed that the industry is worth over €400 billion in cumulative capex and cost parity with virgin plastics production could be achieved in 20–30 years. Plastics companies now have a window of opportunity to be early movers and reap material benefits.

From reducing CO2 emissions to saving the use of trillions of litres of water, the environmental benefits of making crude steel from recycled steel were presented at BIR’s World Recycling Convention in Valencia. The benefits featured in a new study for BIR and were among discussion topics at a meeting of BIR’s Ferrous Division on 26 May. This was chaired by Shane Mellor, the division’s President and Managing Director of Mellor Metals (GBR).

BIR has made “impressive and encouraging” progress across finance, membership, advocacy, communications and global engagement since its previous gathering in Singapore last October, President Susie Burrage OBE informed the world recycling association’s latest Convention, staged for the first time ever in the Spanish city of Valencia.

At the BIR Ferrous Division meeting in Valencia, Divisional President Shane Mellor announced the release of the 16th edition of “World Steel Recycling in Figures”, covering the five-year period from 2020 to 2024.

Protecting workers should be the top priority for any employer, especially those on the front line of materials processing. Beyond the substantial financial consequences of a workplace injury or fatality, the impacts are felt profoundly by an employee’s family, their coworkers, and the wider community.

Each year, the EU generates around 3 million tonnes of end-of-life tyres, but only 50% are recycled, with the rest incinerated for energy recovery. While EU legislation has improved tyre collection systems, mechanical recycling remains underused, despite its clear CO₂ reduction benefits.

The DACCO2 project works with materials with high adsorption capacity and photocatalytic properties capable of capturing and/or oxidizing pollutants and transforming them into compounds with low or no toxicity. Laurentia Technologies, Alfarben, and Toldos Costa Blanca are collaborating on this research to improve urban air quality, funded by IVACE+i and the ERDF.

A new coalition on green public procurement (GPP) — Buy Better to Build Better (BBBB) — has been launched on May 20 at an event in the European Parliament. Bringing together 35 stakeholders from across the construction value chain, civil society, and public authorities, the coalition aims to make green public procurement the default approach in Europe’s construction sector.

UK’s vinyl takeback scheme Recofloor has announced the collection of 533 tonnes of vinyl flooring in 2024, besting its annual target by 6% and reaching the equivalent of 2,550,000 m2 of vinyl flooring recycled throughout the lifetime of the scheme.