BIR president promotes recycling industry at UN conference

Morocco – Attending the United Nations’ latest Conference of the Parties (COP22) in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, BIR president Ranjit Baxi has advocated the establishment of a Global Recycling Day to highlight the benefits of recycling in climate change mitigation. He also argued that recycling should be added to the agenda of future climate change negotiations.

Each year, he underlined, the recycling industry prevents at least 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – an estimate based on the findings of an in-depth scientific study published at the beginning of 2016.

The industry’s contribution is in line with the UN’s Climate Neutral Now initiative, the world recycling organisation points out. Baxi has made it one of the main objectives of his presidency of BIR to organise a Global Recycling Day in co-operation with supranational organisations, national governments and local communities, supported by BIR’s network of national recycling associations around the globe.

His presence in Marrakesh provided him with the opportunity to meet with potential stakeholders and to encourage their active support of the initiative. ‘The vital role that recycling plays in safeguarding our planet for future generations is little known,’ says Baxi.

‘That’s why I’ve made it my mission to work with national governments, local authorities, our member associations and many others to establish a Global Recycling Day,’ he adds. ‘I would also like to see recycling added to the agenda of COP talks in future so that it is embedded in the psyche of climate negotiators.’