When the Bureau of International Recycling (Brussels) opened its spring convention in Rome in late May, the fate of the eurozone hung in the balance, with Greece threatening to implode, Spain facing 50-percent unemployment in its 25-and-younger population, and fears of bank runs rippling under the surface. This shaky state of affairs made Rome and its ruins-evidence of its former role as the center of a vast ancient empire-an appropriate, if haunting, backdrop. The question on many delegates' minds was whether the European monetary union, now in its 13th year, would crumble like the Roman Forum, setting the stage for a new European order, or whether, like the Pantheon, it would remain standing for centuries. No one could provide a definitive answer, of course. Europe's future is mired in uncertainty. This "seriously threatening" state of affairs, as one paper recycler put it, dominated the BIR convention and its reports on international scrap markets.
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