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BASF has started the commercial operation of its Black Mass plant in Schwarzheide, Germany. According to the company, this facility is one of the biggest commercial Black Mass plants in Europe, with an annual processing capacity of up to 15,000 tons of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and production scrap.

Talks to develop a global treaty on plastics, proposed by the United Nations in 2022, could grind to a halt with nothing agreed, the BIR was warned at its Valencia Convention on 28 May.

Around 150 professionals gathered in Valencia for two days to review regulatory developments through the insights of 25 expert speakers at the fifth edition of Okplast, organised by Aimplas.

The tectonic shift in stainless steel production over recent years has created severe challenges — particularly for many producers, and their suppliers, based in Europe. This was one of the clear messages to emerge from the latest meeting of BIR’s Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Committee, held in Valencia on May 27.

A range of topics featured at the Electrics, Electronics and Electric Vehicle Batteries Committee (EEEVB) plenary session in Valencia on 27 May 2025. The session was chaired by Josephita Harry, Vice President of Sales for Pan American Zinc LLC (USA).

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 Member States have significantly closed the gap to achieving the 2030 energy and climate targets, according to the European Commission’s assessment of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

Building on the world’s first “open‐managed” reuse system for hot and cold drink cups in Aarhus, Denmark, Tomra Reuse this week unveiled a Reuse Collection Point (RCP) capable of handling food packaging for the first time.

In the face of tariffs and economic nationalism, recyclers must continue to strengthen specifications and promote recyclables as essential materials, BIR’s World Recycling Convention in Valencia on 27 May was told.

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.