(Washington, DC) – At the upcoming Fall meeting, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Board of Directors will consider an amendment to ISRI’s scrap specifications that will reclassify “Any paper which has the potential to be contaminated with bodily fluid” as a prohibitive, and add the words “and organic waste” to the end to better reflect how Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) characterize inbound paper products in the recycling stream.
The proposal originated in an effort by the recycling industry to emphasize with outside stakeholders that this material does not have a viable end-market consumer to be economically and environmentally sustainable.
This amended specification was previously approved by ISRI’s MRF Council, Plastics Division, and Paper Division at the Summer Board & Committee Meetings. Per ISRI’s bylaws, the full ISRI Board of Directors will vote on it at the Fall Board & Committee Meetings November 6-8, 2017, in Washington, DC. The Board may choose to adopt, amend, or reject the recommendations of the Divisions or table them pending further review. A similar motion to reclassify the specification for “clean, dry double-polycoat food packages” will also be considered at the meeting.
More information about the rules governing the procedures from the addition, amendment, or withdrawal of ISRI’s scrap specifications, can be found in the Scrap Specifications Circular. To submit comments, recommendations, or questions, please contact Joe Pickard. There will be an open comment period for 30 days following the vote by the Board.
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The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the "Voice of the Recycling Industry™." ISRI represents more than 1,100 companies in 21 chapters in the U.S. and 35 countries that process, broker, and consume scrap commodities, including metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics, and textiles. With headquarters in Washington, DC, the Institute provides education, advocacy, safety and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global trade, the environment and sustainable development. Generating nearly $117 billion annually in U.S. economic activity, the scrap recycling industry provides nearly half a million Americans with good jobs.