America Relies on Recycling

RECYCLED MATERIALS ARE WHAT WE'RE MADE OF

Recycled materials are everywhere, from the roads we drive on (recycled rubber) and the cars we drive (recycled steel) to the wires and beams in our homes and offices (recycled copper and steel) and the boxes that bring consumer goods and food to households and offices (recycled paper and plastic). Manufacturers have become reliant on high-quality recycled materials as part of a stable, secure, and sustainable supply chain.

Recycled materials are a critical part of our nation’s move towards decarbonization and electrification, given the energy savings associated with the use of renewable materials in place of extracting natural resources.

Recycled materials are good for the planet. We reduce waste, carbon emissions, and protect limited natural resources.

Recycled materials are good for your community. Recycled materials are good for business.

A Sustainable Supply Chain

Action: Support revised regulations that enable the recycled materials industry to further invest in innovative technologies and produce high-quality materials which contribute to a more sustainable global supply chain.

Why: Recycling is good for the planet, good for business, and good for our community. Recycled materials are everywhere. From the roads we drive on (recycled rubber) and the cars we drive (recycled steel) to the wires and beams in our homes and offices (recycled copper and steel) and the boxes that bring consumer goods and food to households and offices (recycled paper & plastic).

Maintaining a Safe & Stable Supply Chain for Batteries and EVs

Action: Include the recycled materials industry in all conversations related to policy and consumer education surrounding batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, as well as electric vehicles and their batteries, to maintain a safe and stable manufacturing supply chain.

Why: Batteries are found in all sorts of consumer devices, from small “button” batteries, personal care products (electric toothbrushes, razors), to electric vehicle (EV) batteries and consumers need education on the potential risks batteries pose during use and when improperly placed into the recycling stream—including, fires during transport in recycling facilities.

Product Stewardship

Action: Policy discussions surrounding Product Stewardship programs, specifically, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Advanced Recycling Fees (ARF), or deposit legislation, must include the recycled materials industry to ensure these key programs are viable and able to operate within existing infrastructure.

Why: Product Stewardship programs should only be used as a last resort to facilitate proper recycling of difficult to recycle items until the markets for those items mature.

Chemical Recycling Clearly Defined

Action: The recycled materials industry aims to maintain and level the playing field of chemical and mechanical recycling processes to ensure the process represents material to material as recycling.

Why: Some chemical stakeholders have successfully incorporated the term “advanced recycling” in place of the term non-mechanical recycling, which may give the impression that chemical processes are superior to mechanical recycling. This is an inaccurate description, and ISRI does not support this term. ISRI maintains that processes that ONLY result in material to material as recycling.