ISRI and the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) were recently invited to participate in the third International Workshop to develop Guidance Principles for the Sustainable Management of Secondary Metals at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.
The Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) Roundtable brought together key stakeholders from around the world to develop ISO Guidance Principles to “promote social equity, environmental justice, and the optimal recovery of metals in the sustainable management of secondary metals worldwide, for present and future generations.”
The aim of the Guidance Principles is to provide a credible global framework for the recycling of secondary metals, including ferrous and nonferrous metals. The process to develop the Guidance Principles followed the consultation processes of the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) International Workshop Agreement (IWA) format. An IWA is an ISO document produced through a number of workshop meetings rather than through the full ISO Technical Committee process.
Although not an ISO International Standard, the Guidance Principles could become such a standard over the next three years. ISRI and the BIR will be submitting additional comments to address ongoing concerns with key definitions and Guidance Principles that may distort the economics of metal recycling. Companies can also submit comments directly or through ISRI. For further information about this meeting, please contact ISRI staff Eric Harris.
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