The Forecast From Florida

摘要

Miami Beach is known for its sunshine and sandy beaches, yet as the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling's 2014 convention got underway there June 2-4, the clouds rolled in. The overcast, windy, and intermittently rainy conditions continued for the length of the conference, as if the participants' unsettled mood had manifested itself in the local weather. The worries hanging over the international scrap recycling industry were consistent across commodity areas. Participants decried government interference in recycling markets, either to limit commercial collection and processing or to prevent free and fair international trade of recycled commodities. They worried about low profit margins, whether due to tight supply markets or excess processing capacity increasing competition for material while demand grows more slowly. They expect higher quality standards from importing countries, most notably in Asia. But, taking advantage of the conference location, they also explored the untapped potential of Latin American countries as suppliers or consumers of scrap.