May/June 1991
The Bureau International de la Recuperation travels to the French Riviera in May to elect new officers and discuss the challenges facing international recyclers.
A decade ago, hundreds of recyclers from around the world gathered in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for an annual meeting of the Bureau International de la Recuperation (BIR) (Brussels, Belgium).
This year, from May 27-30, BIR members will return to the French Riviera to discuss and study recent developments in the international scrap recycling industry, review commercial and technical aspects of international commodity markets, and conduct business.
Topping the BIR's agenda will be discussions on the Basel Convention, which could restrict the international movement of scrap commodities. Francis Veys, the BIR's secretary general, says the Basel Convention is "well-intended" and is even "well-founded" regarding controls on some hazardous materials, but, he points out, "We have to show that our industry deals in valuable commodities that should be traded freely since only a very limited fringe of our recyclables are potentially hazardous materials." One of the association's priorities is to promote the difference between waste and secondary raw materials, a distinction the BIR has established through clear definitions of the two categories. Ensuring this distinction is crucial if recyclable materials are to escape Basel's restrictions.
The BIR will also report on its progress in establishing dialogues with various government authorities and other recycling- and environment-related groups. "Senior representatives from European and supranational authorities are convinced of the vital economic and ecological importance of the recycling industry and consult us regularly," Veys says.
In addition, the May meeting will feature the election of new BIR officers. BIR President Jake J. Farber, Alpert & Alpert Iron & Metal Inc. (Los Angeles), will conclude his four years as the group's leader. Jean-Pierre Lehoux, Soulier (La Plaine St. Denis, France) and BIR Paper Division president, has been nominated to replace Farber.
In this farewell meeting, Farber will review progress on plans to restructure the BIR. A committee has been working to recommend revisions to the BIR's internal structure to help it secure financial support commensurate with its large-scale objectives. The BIR board will then vote on whether to implement the committee's recommendations.
"The BIR's goal is to become the main industry spokesman on the international level," Farber says, "an influential spokesman representing companies in more than 50 different countries and, through its national member associations, some 7,000 additional companies."
The BIR has been growing and expanding its scope steadily in the past decade, responding to the ever-increasing number of stringent environmental regulations and the ever-changing worldwide recycling markets. Last fall, the association moved into larger offices and hired a public relations officer, and it has been working diligently to increase media recognition of the scrap recycling industry. But the organization's work is far from done.
"Our federation, which has made several forward leaps and bounds during the past few years, is now at a turning point,” Farber says. "The BIR must face the future with the support of its members in order to assist in ensuring the future of the recycling industry."
The BIR's meeting in Monte Carlo will show how far the association has come in the last decade, as well as the challenges it still must face.•
The Bureau International de la Recuperation travels to the French Riviera in May to elect new officers and discuss the challenges facing international recyclers.