BIR President Tom Bird and Director General Arnaud Brunet attended the welcome-back edition of ISRI Convention since 2019 in Las Vegas from 21 to 24 March and participated in a host of highly relevant meetings organized by ISRI in the framework of their extensive and diversified conference programme. Mr Bird was invited to make a special address to the ISRI Board of Directors, during which he stressed the excellent cooperation with ISRI, congratulated the ISRI team for their outstanding job organising such a brilliant convention with an extremely informative and packed agenda, and reminded all attendees that the recycling industry is “the most important contribution to the circular economy”.

On Wednesday, 23 March, BIR and ISRI jointly organized an International VIP reception, where Mr Bird and Mr Brunet joined ISRI Chair Gary Champlin and President Robin Wiener in welcoming the many international members of both associations attending the Las Vegas event. The Reception, staged at the Four Seasons Hotel, was a big success, and the perfect opportunity to celebrate a fruitful cooperation between the two organisations.

During the Convention, Mr Bird sat down for a podcast with long-standing BIR Member John Sacco from Sierra International Machinery to share insights on recycling from a global perspective and how BIR is continuing to make sure their members’ needs are met in the context of current geopolitical and economic challenges worldwide.

In the course of the convention, some of the major subjects discussed were responsible recycling and policy issues, as well as the situation of the global recycling industry on account of the Ukraine conflict (import-export restrictions, financial sanctions, the energy crisis, growing inflations, covid-19, etc.) which will once again be focal points of discussion at the upcoming BIR world Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Barcelona in May.

Many of the ISRI Convention attendees met by President Bird and Director General Brunet confirmed that they were very much looking forward to attending the BIR World Recycling Convention in Barcelona end of May.