BIR One Voice Manifesto: A collective vision for the global recycled materials industry
Recycled materials as strategic resources
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) is the collective voice of the global recycled materials industry. Bringing together national recycling associations and leading companies from across all continents, BIR represents an industry operating worldwide and essential to manufacturing, global trade, economic resilience and sustainable industrial development.
The global recycled materials industry produces the raw materials that feed manufacturing supply chains worldwide. For approaching 80 years, BIR has united this global industry around a shared conviction: materials do not lose their value at the end of a product’s life. When properly collected, sorted and processed, they become high-quality raw materials that sustain manufacturing, reduce environmental impact and strengthen economic resilience.
At a time when governments are redefining industrial policy through the lens of climate neutrality, circular economy and economic security, recycling is no longer a peripheral activity; it is foundational. The global recycling industry transforms end-of-life products into specification-grade raw materials that re-enter supply chains across borders and sectors. It reduces reliance on natural resource extraction, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and enables industries to decarbonise at scale. Recognising this industrial reality is essential for coherent and effective policy-making.
A strategic global industry
Manufacturers worldwide rely on the recycled materials industry for a consistent supply of high-quality feedstock, feeding every sector of the global economy — from automotive and construction to healthcare, technology, packaging and infrastructure. The steel in bridges and buildings, the copper in electrical wiring, the aluminium in beverage cans, the plastics in medical devices and consumer electronics — all depend on recycled materials. Scarcely an hour passes without most people using a product made, in part, from recycled content.
Through innovation and advances in technology, as well as adherence to global specifications, recyclers are continuously finding new ways to increase efficiency, producing products at the volumes and of the quality demanded by manufacturers. Recycling itself is a critical manufacturing activity that produces essential industrial inputs indistinguishable in function from primary raw materials. All of this is accomplished while fostering an environmentally sustainable and economically resilient future for our planet.
Recent debates around strategic raw materials and economic security highlight the need for balance. The recognition of recycled materials as strategic assets is a welcomed development. However, proposals to restrict exports or impose protective trade measures without comprehensive analysis may weaken the very resilience they seek to enhance.
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BIR Position Paper on Green Steel
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), representing over 30,000 companies across 71 countries, advocates for a circular economy approach to steel decarbonisation. Steel production accounts for approximately 8% of global energy sector emissions and 30% of industrial emissions. While there is no universal definition of “green steel”, it is widely understood to refer to steel produced with low or near-zero carbon emissions based on carbon intensity measurements. While the industry pursues various decarbonisation pathways, BIR affirms that recycled steel maximisation across production methods offers the most immediate, commercially viable and sustainable solution for producing low-carbon “green steel”. We call on policymakers to recognise the role of recycled materials in global standards, trade policies and industrial strategies that support the transition to a sustainable steel industry.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
The steel industry stands at a critical crossroads. While emerging technologies may offer long-term solutions, recycled steel in EAFs provides an immediate pathway to emissions reductions of up to 74% compared to primary, or ore-based, steel production. To achieve meaningful progress on steel decarbonisation, BIR calls on policymakers to:
1. Adopt emissions-based standards that apply equally to all steel producers
2. Reject trade restrictions on recycled steel that undermine global decarbonisation efforts
3. Implement procurement policies that create demand for genuinely low-emission steel
4. Focus subsidies on existing recycling-based, low-carbon steelmaking processes
5. Include the recycling industry in all policy development processes
BIR remains committed to advocating for the benefits of the global recycling industry and supporting a sustainable transition to truly green steel through circular economy principles.
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BIR Position Paper on Free Trade of Recycled Materials
Background
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) is the world federation supporting the interests of the recycling industry on an international scale since 1948. As the largest international recycling federation, we represent over 30,000 companies across 73 countries, through 36 national associations and over 1000 direct corporate members. BIR covers eight material streams including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper, textiles, plastics and tyres/rubber, as well as electrical/electronic equipment and EV batteries. BIR’s mission is to promote materials recycling, free and fair trade of recycled materials in a sustainable and competitive global economy, the environmentally sound management of resources, and the reuse of materials worldwide. In this respect, BIR will convey its key messages in relation to the importance of free trade for the recycling industry, and the impact of trade barriers in its functioning.
The position paper aims to clarify the importance of free trade to the global recycling industry, outline the harm of existing barriers to trade in recycled materials, and highlight the relationship between trade in these materials and sustainability. The position paper does not seek to provide comprehensive policy actions but rather delineate a general approach for understanding the functioning of the global recycling industry and the importance of free movement of recycled materials.
Our position
Summary:
Recycled materials have long played a critical role in global manufacturing supply chains and will remain key to addressing climate challenges as sustainable alternatives to extracted natural resources. The competitiveness of the global recycling industry depends on stable market access, which allows private enterprises to invest, process, trade and reintroduce recycled materials into the production cycle. As part of a shift in international trade patterns, governments worldwide have intensified policy interventions that hinder the flow of recycled materials across borders. The ability of the recycling industry to supply these valuable renewable resources is negatively affected through these interventions, even when such interventions are well-intentioned. Trade and policy interventions take many forms but have the effect of putting recyclers at a competitive disadvantage to primary raw materials, hampering climate efforts. Trade barriers also lead to loss in investment and innovation in the circular economy, and are subsequently very difficult to remove. To avoid a cascading effect of barriers that undermine global environmental efforts, the recycling industry must be properly represented at decision-making entities across the various domains which affect its operations.
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BIR Position Paper on Chemical Recycling
Background
BIR, the Bureau of International Recycling, is the world federation which has been supporting the interests of the recycling industry on an international scale since 1948. As the largest international recycling federation, we represent over 30,000 companies across 70 countries, through 37 national associations and over 1000 direct corporate members. BIR covers eight material streams including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper, textiles, plastics and tyres/rubber, as well as electrical/electronic equipment.
BIR’s mission is to promote materials recycling, free and fair trade of recyclables in a sustainable and competitive world economy, the environmentally sound management of resources, and the use of recycled materials worldwide. In this respect, BIR would like to convey its key messages in relation to the growing interest in chemical recycling.
Our position
Summary:
As recycling technology advances, it brings both new opportunities and challenges for achieving a greener environment and a circular economy, where we try to reuse materials as much as possible. Chemical recycling needs careful consideration and well-informed, market-based policies to ensure that it complements rather than competes with traditional recycling methods. This position paper highlights the need for clear definitions (I.), rigorous impact assessments (II.), elimination of hazardous chemicals in products (III.), and innovation in recycling technologies (IV.). These steps, together with a verified recycled content (V.) and investments in innovation (VI.), are crucial to ensure that chemical recycling can effectively complement mechanical recycling in managing end-of-life materials, particularly plastics. Chemical recycling should therefore be used only for hard-to-recycle, end-of-life plastics, recognizing that mechanical recycling remains the preferred method on a large scale.
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BIR Position Paper on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Background
BIR, the Bureau of International Recycling, is the world federation which has been supporting the interests of the recycling industry on an international scale since 1948. As the largest international recycling federation, we represent over 30,000 companies across 70 countries, through 37 national associations and over 1000 direct corporate members. BIR covers eight material streams including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper, textiles, plastics and tyres/rubber, as well as electrical/electronic equipment.
BIR’s mission is to promote materials recycling, free and fair trade of recyclables in a sustainable and competitive world economy, the environmentally sound management of resources, and the use of recycled materials worldwide. In this respect, BIR would like to convey its key messages in relation to the growing interest in extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, which are perceived as a circular economy enabler.
Our position
Summary:
I) Over recent decades, EPR schemes have been set up for various waste streams to apply the polluter pays principle. While BIR supports policy instruments to increase circularity, it is imperative that EPR schemes must not disrupt existing efficient markets. They should be set up only when there is a need and only once the effectiveness and the intrinsic value of a waste stream have been assessed. Preserving free and fair competition for the recycling industry is vital because recycled materials are subject to market complexities, such as supply and demand, and EPR schemes could disrupt efficient markets if not designed correctly.
II) Governments should first refer to other policy instruments to increase circularity such as making design for recycling mandatory and legally-binding recycled content targets. These are powerful tools to accelerate demand for recycled materials and level the playing field with extracted raw materials.
III) When and where EPR schemes are considered an absolute necessity, recyclers should be involved in the governance bodies of such schemes to ensure an appropriate balance of interests among the most relevant stakeholders in the value chain. Ownership of waste should be retained by the recycling company entrusted with the responsibility of processing the waste so that it can remain competitive and pursue continuous investment in the business. Furthermore, it is essential to have transparent and fair tenders and to avoid monopolies to comply with competition rules. BIR stands ready to engage with policy-makers and authorities in their efforts to increase recycling rates and circularity.
Download the full position paper below.