The second ever Global Recycling Day is being celebrated today, with a range of waste management companies marking the occasion in their own way.
The ‘flagship event’ of Global Recycling Day 2019 will take place today in London
The event is organised by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), which describes the event as “a movement dedicated to celebrating the importance of recycling and making the world think resource not waste”.
The theme of this year’s Global Recycling Day is “Recycling into the Future”, focusing on young people and innovation and aims to encourage the public to recognise the role they can play in better recycling practices and improving the circular economy.
Events today are taking place across the globe, the BIR added, including events in Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America.
The ‘flagship event’ will be taking place in central London later, where a kiosk will be set up on Carnaby Street to raise awareness, but a range of other companies have also pledged their support to the event.
Tomra
Last week, machine manufacturer TOMRA Sorting Recycling announced that it would be sponsoring the event, as well as becoming a ‘friend of the Global Recycling Foundation’ – the sister company set up by the BIR.
TOMRA Sorting Recycling designs and manufactures sensor-based sorting technologies for the global recycling and waste management industry. The firm said it has over 5,500 systems installed in 80 countries over the world.
Dr Volker Rehrmann, head of circular economy at TOMRA said: “The Circular Economy is more in focus than ever before – regions around the world are heightening sustainability targets and driving impactful standards. Together with TOMRA, the regions build a brighter future for generations to come.
“We are pleased to be a part of the Global Recycling Day initiative and look forward to working with the Global Recycling Foundation to make a difference.”
Initiative
Meanwhile, the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) is marking the day by “launching a new initiative that will support both local communities and local scrap metal recycling yards.”
The initiative will aim to encourage members of the public to support their local scrap yard, while raising funds for local schools, community projects and charities.
This will be done by encouraging people to check their sheds, garages, and even their kitchens for metals that are no longer being used, take it to a local scrap yard and, should they wish, donate the money.
The initiative will also see members of the BMRA team up with local schools ‘to promote metal recycling’.
Commenting on the initiative, Susie Burrage, president of BMRA, said: “As part of Global Recycling Day, the BMRA is launching an initiative called ‘Support your local yard, support your local community’, where our members are teaming up with local schools to promote metal recycling. Not only can schools raise money by collecting all kinds of scrap metal, but the children will learn about recycling metals and its importance to the environment.”
‘Founding sponsor’
For the second year running, Sims Metal Management will continue as the founding sponsor of Global Recycling Day.
Ranjit Baxi President of BIR and the Global Recycling Foundation
The company backed the event during its inaugural event last year, and said it was ‘proud’ to be doing so again.
Group chief risk and compliance officer at Sims Metal Management, Elise Gautier, said: “Sims Metal Management is proud to be a Founding Sponsor of Global Recycling Day and to show support to the Global Recycling Foundation for bringing awareness to the importance of recycling.”
Ms Gautier added: “As a global leader in the recycling industry, sustainability and corporate social responsibility are fully integrated into our business strategy and culture. Global Recycling Day reminds us that we are all stewards of our world’s resources and need to do more to keep resources in use as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them while in use, and then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their useful life.”
Global
Meanwhile, a range of companies and government bodies across the globe also committed support to the event, including the Ministry of Waterways and Environment in Fiji, coffee machine manufacturer Nespresso, and Defra, which is taking part in the #RecyclingGoals challenge (see letsrecycle.com story) in London later today.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the European Union Environment Board and the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) are all also hosting events.
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Source: letsrecycle.com General
