Recycling: The Smart Circular Way in Economic Activity

Worldwide, an increasing number of countries recognize the benefits of recycling. Therefore, it is not by chance that the organizers of the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition in Singapore will once again welcome an enormous number of attendees. The international event will take place from (27) 28 to 29 October 2024. It can be assumed that it will build on the success of the previous conventions organized by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), especially the one in Copenhagen (Denmark) this May with 1,780 registrations. In Singapore, as always, at this two-day event participants can expect the latest market insights and topics in the global recycling industry provided by BIR, associations, companies and guest speakers.

New trade formats like the “Circular Valley Convention 2025” in Düsseldorf (Germany) in March next year demonstrate how attractive the global market for the circular economy is. As announced, this event will be organized by Messe Düsseldorf in cooperation with the German non-profit Circular Valley Foundation and with scientific support from the renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology (UMSICHT). As a platform for the circular economy, the convention will bring together decision-makers and experts from business, academia, politics, and society in one place, the organizers underlined (page 7).

Solutions for waste and wastewater management are in demand. That applies to developing countries where the rapid population growth and increasing economic activity are combined with mountains of refuse and pools of wastewater. Regarding waste, for example, the Republic of Mozambique is presumed to generate an amount of at least 4.2 million tons per year. But recycling rates are low. While an estimated 40-60 percent of the waste is collected, about 98-99 percent of this collected quantity is disposed of in uncontrolled landfills. Nevertheless, there are projects to improve the situation as you can read from page 22 onward.

In Europe, for example, Italy is on track to reach the 2025 targets. As you can read (page 29), with 175 million tons produced, Italy shows the fourth-highest amount of waste but has one of the highest recycling rates in the EU. In 2021, the country recycled at least 51.3 percent of its municipal waste. According to the latest report of the Fondazione per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (Sustainable Development Foundation), the country even recycled 72 percent of all waste collected – compared to the European average of around 58 percent.

The ongoing success of the global circular economy depends on the innumer­able companies in the recycling industry and their initiatives. You can find more information in this Enterprises section from page 11 onward.

We hope you get a lot of new and useful information from reading this current magazine.

Yours, Brigitte Weber