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BIR Malaga 2026 to Examine Critical Minerals and E-Waste Trade Rules
The Bureau of International Recycling's Electronics Committee will examine changing electronics recycling economics, critical mineral demand and international waste-shipment regulations at its Malaga 2026 convention. Industry experts will address how material values and differing interpretations of Basel Convention rules affect global recycling operations.
By Paul Ploumis
Published: October 26, 2026
Key Points
- BIR Malaga 2026: The Electronics Committee will address changing recycling economics, critical minerals and international regulation.
- Critical mineral demand: Data centres, electrification and emerging technologies will feature in discussions about material recovery and resource supply chains.
- Cross-border trade: Experts will examine differing national interpretations of Basel Convention waste classifications.
- E-waste regulations: BIR will review technical guidance covering Basel Convention entries A1181 and Y49.
MONTREAL (Scrap Monster): The changing economics of electronics recycling, rising interest in critical minerals and international regulatory challenges will take centre stage at the Electronics Committee plenary session during the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition Malaga 2026.
The convention is being held from October 25–27 at the FYCMA Trade Fairs and Congress Centre in Malaga, Spain.
Chaired by Josephita Harry of Pan American Zinc, USA, the Electronics Committee session will examine how technological developments, evolving material values and different regulatory interpretations are shaping the global electronics recycling industry.
Discussions will also cover the Bureau of International Recycling's advocacy efforts to support responsible recycling and international trade in recovered materials.
Critical Minerals and Technology Reshape Electronics Recycling
Emily Sanchez, Chief Economist at the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), USA, will examine the growing importance of critical minerals in the global economy.
Her presentation will explore how expanding data centre infrastructure, electrification and emerging technologies are influencing demand for raw materials and changing supply-chain requirements.
The discussion will also consider how these developments affect the economic value of resources recovered from discarded electrical and electronic equipment.
As technologies evolve, electronics recycling increasingly involves recovering materials with potential importance to industrial manufacturing and strategic supply chains.
The session will connect these developments with the economic and practical considerations facing recyclers involved in recovering valuable materials from end-of-life electronics.
Basel Convention Interpretations Create Cross-Border Challenges
International regulatory differences will form another important part of the Electronics Committee programme.
Aaron Goldberg, Principal at U.S. environmental law firm Beveridge & Diamond, will examine how countries can apply different interpretations to waste classifications under the Basel Convention.
His presentation will use black mass from lithium-ion battery recycling as a case study to illustrate how classification differences can affect international shipments of materials intended for recovery.
The discussion will highlight the practical challenges that recyclers and material traders can face when determining how recovered materials should be classified and which regulatory requirements apply.
For companies operating across national borders, these distinctions can affect shipment documentation, approval requirements and access to receiving facilities.
BIR to Review E-Waste Rules Under Basel Convention
The session will also include an update from Federico Zanotti, BIR Senior Policy Officer, on the Basel Convention Expert Working Group's development of technical guidelines for electronic waste.
His presentation will focus on guidance for identifying and classifying e-waste under entries A1181 and Y49.
Both entries were introduced through Basel Convention amendments that took effect on January 1, 2025, expanding international controls on electronic-waste shipments.
BIR's involvement in the technical-guidance process reflects its interest in developing clear and workable regulatory definitions that support responsible recycling while allowing legitimate international material recovery.
ScrapMonster Edge: Why A1181 and Y49 Matter to Recyclers
The Basel Convention's updated e-waste classifications are particularly relevant to businesses that process, trade or ship end-of-life electronics and recovered electronic-waste materials internationally.
The amendments, effective January 1, 2025, expanded the scope of electronic waste subject to the Convention's prior informed consent (PIC) procedure.
| Entry | Classification and Requirement |
|---|---|
| A1181 | Hazardous e-waste, including covered components and processing residues. Subject to PIC controls. |
| Y49 | Other covered e-waste, components and processing residues not classified under A1181. Also subject to PIC controls. |
| Effective date | January 1, 2025 |
Source: Secretariat of the Basel Convention, E-waste Amendments.
The important distinction: Both hazardous and other covered e-waste classifications can require prior authorization for international shipments under the Convention's framework.
That makes accurate material identification and classification essential for recyclers handling international movements of covered e-waste.
Goldberg's planned discussion of battery black mass illustrates the wider concern: countries may interpret particular waste classifications differently, creating uncertainty for companies arranging international material shipments.
For recycling businesses, the practical issue is not simply whether a material contains recoverable metals. Its regulatory classification, destination-country rules and applicable shipment requirements also determine how it can move across borders.
BIR Advocacy Focuses on Practical Recycling Regulations
BIR will use the Electronics Committee session to outline its contribution to international policy discussions affecting electronics recycling.
Zanotti will provide an update on the organization's participation in the Basel Convention's technical-guidance work and its efforts to encourage clearer, practical classification rules.
The organization has emphasized the importance of regulatory frameworks that support environmentally responsible recycling without creating unnecessary obstacles to legitimate international material flows.
The Malaga discussion will bring together the economic value of recovered resources, international demand for critical materials and the regulatory obligations facing companies involved in electronics recycling.
What Electronics Recyclers Should Watch
The session will bring several industry issues into focus:
- Critical mineral demand: How data centres, electrification and emerging technologies are changing the value and importance of recovered materials.
- Battery recycling materials: How different interpretations of waste classifications can affect international shipments of black mass.
- Basel Convention guidance: Progress on technical guidelines supporting implementation of entries A1181 and Y49.
- International material flows: Whether clearer regulatory interpretations can reduce uncertainty for legitimate recycling operations.
The central issue for electronics recyclers is how to capture the economic value of increasingly important recovered resources while complying with evolving international waste-shipment requirements.
