BMRA elects Michael Oppenheimer as new president

The managing director of West Midlands-based metals company Brookside Metal, Michael Oppenheimer, has been elected as president of the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA).

Mr Oppenheimer, who currently serves as deputy president of the metal recycling sector's trade body, takes over from outgoing president Michael Wright, who has held the role since August 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).

He has worked in the metals recycling sector since 1974, and has been at Brookside Metal, which claims to be “possibly one of the worlds' and most certainly Europe's largest producer of gunmetal, brass, bronze and other copper alloy ingots” since 2000.

Today (June 29), Mr Oppenheimer vowed to continue Mr Wright's work, and, in particular, to push the case for government support for the metals recycling sector's development that it made in its second ‘Agenda For Change' policy document, published in November 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

“I want to continue Michael's good work in promoting the £5 billion UK metals recycling industry. Our key messages remain the same: metals recycling is good for the UK economy, good for jobs and good for the environment,” he said.

Describing the ‘Agenda for Change' as a “strong case”, Mr Oppenheimer also highlighted the “vital role” the BMRA and its members had to play in diverting waste from landfill and protecting the environment.

“In my new role as president I will also work to make sure the right policy and regulatory framework is in place to achieve these objectives,” he said.

Policy areas

Key policy areas that the BMRA has lobbied government on over the past few years include the impact of a review of the system of exemptions from waste permitting, the need to set aside energy-from-waste capacity for commercial waste and the potential to introduce a landfill tax relief scheme to encourage investment in end-of-life vehicle recycling technologies.

The Association's director-general, Ian Hetherington, has also been involved in work at a European level to develop criteria defining when metals are no longer waste, and are therefore not subject to waste regulation (see letsrecycle.com story).

As well as praising the efforts of the outgoing president, Mr Hetherington welcomed Mr Oppenheimer's appointment, and said: “Michael has been at the heart of the UK's metals recycling for nearly 40 years and he knows the industry inside out. I've no doubt he will work timelessly to promote the interests of metal recyclers in his new role.”