This year the prize went to Surendra Borad Patawari, founder of the Gemini Corporation N.V. Belgium. “Surendra Borad Patawari receives this award in recognition of his lifetime’s work in the sourcing, processing and reuse of raw materials with a view to circular economy,” said Jean Cox-Kearns, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the IERC, at the award ceremony. The prize-giving took place on Wednesday (January 22) at the IERC 2020 congress in Salzburg.
“We also honour Mr Patawari for his commitment to creating a social impact through multiple long-term initiatives in India,” said Jean Cox-Kearns in praising the award winner. “He has adopted 11 Indian villages for their medical needs, has built and operates two schools for 400 students, and supports the planting and maintenance of over 100,000 trees.”
Surendra Borad Patawari founded Gemini Corporation N.V. in 1989. Since then the company has grown into an international sourcing and supply organization with operations spanning over more than 40 countries and a workforce of more than 200 highly trained professionals. Since inception, the product portfolio at Gemini Corporation N.V. has expanded multifold. Besides the core divisions of Plastics, Steel, Oleo and Rubber, several new product lines have been added and grown exponentially over the years. Major product lines among the new additions are Paper and Animal Feed.
Surendra Borad Patawari was honoured to receive the IERC Honorary Award. “I am in the business of recycling for the last 30 years”, he said. “Recycling is my passion. Recycling is my life. This award will add up to my passion and will keep on reminding me that I have to keep on working hard to remain qualified for the award.”
