For Immediate Release August 3, 2011
Washington, D.C. – The Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc. (ISRI) has announced its strong endorsement of U.S.
Senate Resolution 251, “expressing support for the improvement of
collection, processing and consumption of recyclable materials
throughout the United States.”
The resolution was introduced by U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and
Olympia Snowe (R-ME), co-founders and co-chairs of the Senate Recycling
Caucus. The purpose of the Senate Recycling Caucus is to educate Senate
members and staff on the need for and benefits of recycling to the U.S.
economy and the environment and about energy savings generated through
recycling as well as to support public policies aimed at increasing
recycling across the country.
“This resolution puts the U.S. Senate on record about an industry
that protects the earth and our natural resources, boosts our economy,
contributes positively toward the U.S. trade deficit, and creates good
paying green jobs,” said ISRI President Robin Wiener. “Today the
industry is facing many obstacles, but this resolution ensures us that
our lawmakers not only recognize the positive contributions of scrap
recycling but also recognize the need to support the industry and create
a beneficial environment for its continued growth.”
The resolution was introduced on the heels of a new study released
last week by ISRI highlighting the significant economic and
environmental contributions of the U.S. scrap recycling industry. The
study, commissioned by ISRI and undertaken by John Dunham and
Associates, looks at different kinds of economic activity associated
with the U.S. recycling industry, including processing, brokering and
exporting – and measures both direct and indirect economic impacts - in
terms of jobs, wages, taxes and total economic impact - at the national,
state and congressional district levels.
The economic analysis shows that the U.S. scrap recycling industry is
a major economic engine powerful enough to create 460,000 jobs within
the U.S. and generate $10.3 billion in tax revenues for governments
across the country, all while making the old new again and helping to
protect the earth’s air, water and land for future generations. The
economic study can be viewed in its entirety at www.isri.org/2011scrapjobstudy.
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A Washington, D.C. based trade association; ISRI represents more
than 1,600 private, for-profit companies operating at more than 7,000
facilities in the United States and 30 countries worldwide. ISRI members
are processors, brokers and industrial consumers of scrap commodities,
including ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper, electronics, rubber,
plastics, glass and textiles. ISRI's associate members include both
equipment and service providers for the scrap recycling industry.