(Washington, DC) – The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) today applauds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of its long-awaited National Recycling Strategy, which supports strategies to “build a circular economy for all.” ISRI hails the strategy as forward-thinking and achievable, strengthening the Association’s long-time efforts to demonstrate recycling’s critical role in the fight against climate change, delivering a sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and to increase equitable access to the environmental and economic benefits recycling contributes to our communities.
“This National Recycling Strategy incorporates all the components required for a successful recycling ecosystem, championing initiatives that ISRI has implemented for many years,” says ISRI President Robin Wiener. “It notes that recycling is a part – or one of the tools – of a successful material management infrastructure, and it prioritizes both market demand for recycled commodities and the critical importance of designing products for recyclability. ISRI celebrates the direction of the EPA’s Strategy and looks forward to working with the Agency.”
EPA developed the strategy with five main objectives:
- Improve Markets for Recycled Materials;
- Increase Collection and Improve Infrastructure
- Decrease Contamination;
- Enhance Policies and Programs to Support Circularity; and
- Standardize Measurement and Increase Data Collection.
ISRI will be leading actions in collaboration with EPA to ensure the successful attainment of the Strategy’s objectives, drawing on the Association’s strengths across all five objectives. These actions will build on ISRI’s efforts to grow demand for recycled commodities, such as in the recently enacted infrastructure package, recognizing manufacturers with ISRI’s Design for Recycling® Award, and enhancing public awareness about what is and is not recyclable.
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The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the "Voice of the Recycling Industry™." ISRI represents 1,300 companies in the U.S. and more than 40 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 $116 billion annually in U.S. economic activity, the scrap recycling industry provides more than 506,000 Americans with good jobs.