With 450 participants from all over the world, IERC (International Electronics Recycling Conference) is one of the most influential global meetings of electronics waste (WEEE) recyclers. Hosted in Salzburg, the 18th IERC (January 2019) was well attended with a strong European industry presence. The conference included several presentations addressing issues with recycling of polymers containing halogenated flame retardants. Keynote presentations shed a light on the future amendments to the Basel convention, now that China has implemented a ban on import of plastic waste, and to the EU POP Regulation. It is expected that POP recast will push for ever lower contents of POPs in plastic waste, including certain brominated compounds, which may drive the demand for substitution products such as PIN FRs. pinfa participated in the exhibition with a booth, sharing updates on its projects and activities. 2019 will see further developments of PIN FR recycling activities, with latest progress of the pinfa-Fraunhofer Institute work to be featured in a video and a joint pinfa-AIMPLAS workshop to take place on April 4th, 2019 (see www.pinfa.eu under “Events”).
18th International Electronics Recycling Congress IERC 2019, January 16 – 18, 2019, Salzburg, Austria www.icm.ch