BIR World Recycling Convention 2020 Postponed to October

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has decided to cancel its World Recycling Convention 2020 scheduled to be held in May this year at the Swissotel The Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. This is on account of the risks associated with holding such a big industry gathering amidst spreading coronavirus.

According to BIR press release, the event has now been rescheduled to October this year. There is no change in the venue, it said. The overall recommendation to avoid mass gatherings on account of rapid spread of the virus, rising instances of travel restrictions imposed by countries around the world and cancellation of flights by various airlines have prompted the organization to take this difficult decision, BIR noted.

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Tom Bird, President, BIR noted that it is for the first time in the 72-year history of the organization that an event has not taken place as planned. He termed the decision as a right one, especially under the circumstances that the organization is not in a position to fully guarantee the wellbeing of the participants.

This is the third major recycling industry event that is cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak. Recently, the IFAT Trade Show in Munich and ISRI Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas were cancelled due to similar reasons.