BIR returns to its roots for 75th anniversary

The Bureau of International Recycling will hold its 2023 Spring Convention & Exhibition on 22-24 May in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It should be a memorable conference as the world recycling organisation will be celebrating its 75th anniversary.

On 18 March 1948, leading recyclers from the Benelux countries gathered in Amsterdam’s Amstel Hotel for a celebratory reception, during which two of the directors and owners of a renowned Dutch recycling company suggested to their foreign guests that a trans-boundary recyclers’ association should be founded. The presidents of the Belgian and Dutch scrap organisations decided to invite Luxembourg, France and Great Britain to join the embryonic organisation, which was officially named the Bureau International de la Récupération at the first official meeting in June 1948, held again in Amsterdam, this time at the Carlton Hotel.

75 years on, BIR stands strong, ‘with a continuously growing membership base, a diversified materials portfolio and influential connections with international legislators and supranational organisations’.

Throughout the year, BIR will be celebrating this milestone together with its members and the wider recycling community.

For more information, visit www.bir.org