‘Biggest ever’ BIR convention kicks off in post-flooded Valencia

A record 2 000 recyclers and scrap traders have gathered in Spain’s port city Valencia for the Bureau of International Recycling’s World Recycling Convention & Exhibition. The event also hosts 50 exhibitors.

‘It is our biggest conference ever,’ BIR president Susie Burrage told a press meeting on Sunday night ahead of the convention. She said the conference was being held in times of ‘volatile markets challenging recyclers all over the world’.

Burrage is halfway through what is expected to be a four-year presidency and it’s been ‘a great journey so far’, she added.

Shredding disaster cars at full capacity

The BIR event takes place seven months after the Valencia region was hit by severe floods which cost the lives of 230 people and damage estimated at EUR 30 billion. Some 120 000 cars alone were lost in the disaster, and Spanish shredders have been working overtime to process all these car wrecks.

In the weeks after the floodings, the world recycling organisation considered moving the convention to another city. ‘We asked ourselves, should we still do it in Valencia?’ BIR’s director general Arnaud Brunet told Recycling International. ‘But the Spanish convinced us: “Please come, it’s the best support you can now be for the city, for jobs, for the local economy”.’

Valencia has almost fully recovered from the October floods, which mainly affected three southern neighbourhoods. Today, the city’s services and tourist attractions are operating as usual, making it a safe and as attractive a destination as ever.

Next show in Bangkok

BIR conference chair Brian Henesey announced that the October convention will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. Henesey said that BIR, like ReMA, will in future announce much earlier when and where conferences are held. ‘So that members are able to plan ahead.’   

The show at the Feria Valencia Convention Centre hosts 50 exhibitors in a large, airy central hall.