In September, ReMA released a new study by John Dunham and Associates indicating the recycling industry is responsible for more than 531,500 jobs and an overall economic impact of nearly $110 billion.
The $110 billion economic impact puts the recycling industry on par with the radio and television broadcasting, building services, and warehousing and storage industries. It includes the roughly $4.94 billion in state and local tax revenues generated along with another $7.96 billion federal taxes.
The study found that in 2019, 164,154 jobs are being directly supported by the recycling and brokerage operations of the scrap industry in the U.S. In addition, 367,356 jobs are indirectly supported by the industry through suppliers and the indirect impact of the industry’s expenditures. The indirect jobs include thousands of people in other sectors such as servers in restaurants, construction workers, teachers, and other professionals.
Looking specifically at the plastics recycling industry, it is responsible for an economic impact of $6.03 billion and nearly 30,000 jobs in the U.S. Economic fact sheets along with graphics you can use on your website, social media, and other marketing materials is
available for free for plastics and other individual commodities.