(Washington, DC) - Each year the recycling industry in the United States manufactures 130 million metric tons of material into commodities that are used in new products. In recognition of the industry’s contributions to American manufacturing, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) today joins in the celebration of National Manufacturing Day.
“As we come together to recognize the work of American manufacturers, we cannot do so without acknowledging the countless benefits of the recycling industry,” said ReMA President Robin Wiener. “Recycling is manufacturing. The manufacturing industry depends on recycling and the critical raw materials the industry provides. ReMA is proud to represent the men and women of the recycling industry and the essential role they play in keeping American manufacturing operating.”
The recycling industry is pivotal in the manufacturing process. In the United States alone, 70 percent of materials processed by the recycling industry annually are used in American manufacturing.
Additional facts and figures regarding recycling’s role as manufacturing include:
- Nonferrous metals do not degrade or lose their chemical properties in the recycling process, allowing them to be recycled an infinite number of times.
- About 75 percent of aluminum produced since commercial manufacturing began in the 1880s is still in productive use as secondary raw material.
- Manufacturing paper and paper board with recycled materials uses up to 68 percent less energy than using virgin materials.
- Using recycled plastics in manufacturing saves up to 88 percent of the energy needed to produce plastics from virgin materials.
- U.S. recyclers process more than 5 million tons of electronics products a year.
- The use of recycled rubber in molded products reduces greenhouse gas emissions 25 to 80 percent compared with the use of virgin plastic resins.
Recycling provides critically essential feedstock, ensuring supply chains are not disrupted, protecting our natural resources, and keeping prices down for the products Americans rely on every day.
Currently, 159,640 jobs are directly supported by recycling and brokerage operations of the recycling industry in the United States. These jobs pay an average of $77,300 in wages and benefits to American workers and local communities throughout the country. In addition, 346,499 jobs throughout the U.S. economy are indirectly supported by the recycling 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.
National Manufacturing Day occurs on the first Friday of October. It encourages American manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.
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The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the "Voice of the Recycling Industry™." ReMA 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.