a u t h o r s Robin Latchem and Martijn Reintjes
14
Uncertainty rules
in Budapest
B I R m e e t s o n t h e b a n k s o f t h e R i v e r D a n u b e
trade bans and trade wars, widespread decline in manufacturing
and, on top of that, shrinking scrap prices dominated the latest
gathering of the world recyling organisation. on the positive
note, as one delegate put it, ‘times of difficulty always offer new
opportunities.’
president Bird told the body’s conven-
tion in Budapest his key priorities
included expansion of the member-
ship and a close working relationship
with the media to promote the
environmental, economic and social
contribution of the recycling
industry.
‘Recycling still has an image that
needs improving and we really need
to promote the positive contribution
It was a conference of deep market
concerns. Concerns about falling
scrap prices. For some new, for most a
simple fact of life and the business
they are in. In other words: you simply
have to deal with.
‘I have seen this so many times before,
it does not keep me awake at night
anymore,’ a trader with years of experi-
ence told Recycling International.
‘Indeed, these are uncertain times for
our industry,’ noted another. ‘You real-
ly have to fight for your piece of the
pie and that’s why we are here, look-
ing for business.’
The qualiTy issue
Because of or despite tough market
conditions, the latest world recycling
convention pulled 900-plus delegates
to Budapest. Among them, as ever,
David Chiao. The president of US-based
Uni-All Group warned the conference
there will only be a future for our indus-
try if we keep watch on scrap quality.
‘It is crucial to let our environmental
hearts and conscience speak while doing
business,’ Chiao told delegates during a
panel session on non-ferrous, adding
that recyclers should focus more on qual-
ity and invest more in what he describes
as ‘the last 2% of scrap contamination’.
Another panellist, Dhawal Shah, direc-
tor of Metco Marketing (India), agreed
that the recycling industry’s primary
responsibility ‘must be to buy and sell
clean, first-class scrap’.
Buckle up for a rough ride
Quality, service and reliability are the
most important things to focus on to
help our industry overcome market
turbulence, according to EMR’s Murat
Bayram.
‘There is no way back. We have seen
huge investments in the Western World.
We need to fasten our seatbelts.’
Leopoldo Clemente of LCD Trading
SRL in Italy emphasised the added
importance of offering reliability.
‘Times of difficulty always offer new
opportunities,’ he said. ‘Keep faith in
better times to come, be optimistic.’
secTor needs image Building
The Bureau of International Recycling
is to be the ‘go-to’ source for those
needing to know about the recycling
industry, according to the organisa-
tion’s new president Tom Bird.
In his first welcome address as BIR
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