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Home  About ISRI
ISRI: The Voice of the Recycling
Industry
As the "Voice of the Recycling Industry," the
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI)
is leading the way in advocating the vital role
scrap recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global
trade, the environment, and sustainable
development.
A Washington, D.C.-based trade association, ISRI
represents nearly 1,600 private, for-profit
companies operating at more than 7,000 facilities in
the United States and 30 countries worldwide that
process, broker, and industrially consume scrap
commodities, including ferrous and nonferrous
metals, paper, electronics, rubber, plastics, glass,
and textiles. In addition, ISRI's associate members
include equipment and service providers to the scrap
recycling industry. Manufacturers and sellers of
equipment and services—like shredders, balers,
cranes, cargo transporters, computer systems, and
more—find value in promoting the scrap
recycling industry through their membership in
ISRI.
Many ISRI-member companies are family-owned
businesses, with a significant number of them having
been in continuous operation for 100 years or
longer. It is estimated that ISRI members employ
more than 85,000 people, and their companies range
in size from small, one-location operations to
large, publicly-held corporations with multiple
facilities worldwide. Other ISRI members focus on
the business of brokering and trading recyclable
materials, consolidating materials from a variety of
businesses to expedite the fulfillment of consumer
needs. All of these member companies—large and
small—have one thing in common: they all have
the expertise and the ability to compete in today's
global marketplace. The association assists its
member companies with a wide variety of products and
services designed to help them run better, cleaner,
safer, and more profitable operations.
- First and foremost, ISRI believes that all
members' operations should be carried out "Safely or
Not at All." To that end, the association provides a
vast array of services for members, ranging from
OSHA compliance guidance to the design of a
customized safety blueprint which is fashioned at
the member's facility by one of the ISRI Safety
professionals. ISRI leads the industry in the
production and distribution of training materials
designed to improve the safety and operations of the
scrap industry.
- ISRI also provides extensive compliance guidance
to assist members comply with federal and
international laws and regulations pertaining to the
environment, shipping and transportation, safety,
and other key areas affecting their businesses.
- Implementation of RIOS—the Recycling
Industry Operating Standard—is also a major
focus of ISRI's. RIOS is the only recycling
industry-specific integrated quality, environmental,
health, and safety management system and seeks to
provide consumers with the same assurances of
compliance that they have come to expect from
programs like ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and the OSH 18000
standard.
- ISRI also publishes the Scrap Specifications
Circular, which for more than 85 years has provided
specifications for hundreds of grades of scrap
designed to ensure consistency and standardization
for the worldwide sale and purchase of scrap
commodities.
- ISRI provides continuing education and training
for its member through forums, seminars, workshops,
commodity roundtables, publications, an annual
convention, and the world's largest annual scrap
recycling exposition. Last year, more than 5,000
industry professionals from more than 49
countries attended ISRI's convention.
Among its many services, ISRI promotes public
awareness of the value and importance of recycling
to the production of the world's goods and services,
along with the positive environmental benefits
derived from scrap recycling. As part of this
effort, ISRI advocates on behalf of the industry
before the U.S. Congress, state governments, and
international bodies to help ensure the free and
fair trade of scrap commodities globally. ISRI also
educates the public about how the scrap recycling
industry is uniquely positioned to meet the
challenges of today's world—a leading economic
engine for the world providing real solutions that
help protect and sustain the earth's environment.
More information on scrap recycling can be found at
the ISRI Web site, www.isri.org. For more
information on ISRI or to learn how to join this
dynamic association, simply go to www.isri.org and click on "Join
ISRI/Renew" in the left-hand column or call
877/367-4774.
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