Salam Al Sharif, President of the Bureau of Middle East Recycling, spoke during the ISRI 2018 Vegas conference, noting that with the rapid urbanization of Dubai, for example, the Beijing air pollution situation was a wake-up call to many growing economies in the Gulf to understand the role of steel and other materials in their development along with their recycling responsibilities. Additionally, the “shake ups” in trade that resulted from Chinese initiatives such as the Greene Fence in 2012 and the National Sword in 2017 “have provided opportunities for the Middle Eastern recyclers.” He said, “The Gulf is positioned as an excellent backyard to many economies in the world. Recycling rates are increasing, improved mechanization has been adopted, margins have improved, and the domestic know how allows us to become slightly more immune from surprises that may come.”
He added, “We operate in the Middle East, but look at the entire globe as one region. The population will grow worldwide with some estimates to 10 billion by the end of this century. Recycling can save 95 percent of energy consumption plus decrease the millions of metric tons of emissions and pollution. It is the only sustainable answer.”
Speaking directly with SteelOrbis, Al Sharif reinforced his firm’s commitment to recycling by annually participating in Global Recycling Day on March 18, commemorating the founding of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). He added, “Recycling is the saving of resources and itself a 7th resource (among air, water, coal, oil, natural gas, metals). We need to be more committed to the mission and recycle in more sophisticated ways.”