March/April 1991
In an effort to develop and expand markets for recyclables, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has drafted recommendations designed to teach public policymakers and recycling advisory groups the importance of putting markets first. The text follows.
ISRI supports the following recommendations that will help develop, enhance, stimulate, and expand markets for recycling and recyclables.
Joint Public Policy and Private-Sector Initiatives:
increase public awareness regarding the benefits of recycling; support federal and state funding of research and development projects for new products made of recyclable materials or hard-to-recycle products; establish joint research cooperatives comprised of government, the scrap recycling industry, manufacturers, and educational institutions to provide technical assistance that would aid or stimulate the consumption of recyclables; establish a centralized mechanism for the collection and analysis of data relating to recycling; establish advisory groups, including experienced scrap processors and scrap consumers, to identify and address market development/regulatory issues; adopt a national coding system for containers that would assist their recyclability as they enter the processing phase of recycling; and encourage manufacturers to promote a national policy of designing and manufacturing goods and products that, at the end of their useful life, can be recycled safely and efficiently.
Government Initiatives:
establish that if a manufacturer produces a product that is not recycled, the manufacturer has an obligation to take it back or recycle it; treat materials in the recycling process as products, not waste; change current governmental purchasing practices to favor products containing recycled content and recyclable products; if any government requires a targeted recycling level, there must be a corresponding government Procurement rate; and provide industries consuming secondary raw materials with an eligibility priority for obtaining economic development incentives and a regulatory fast-track for the establishment or expansion of industries consuming secondary raw materials (for example, a paper mill or plastic plant).
Financial Initiatives:
provide research and development tax credits for the development of products/ materials that can be safely and easily recycled; provide exemptions or incentives to the public for buying products containing a certain percentage of recycled content (for example, waiver of excise tax); and support legislation setting a threshold content for products made with secondary raw materials (for example, newsprint from scrap paper). Incentives should be provided for products that exceed the threshold.•
In an effort to develop and expand markets for recyclables, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ReMA) has drafted recommendations designed to teach public policymakers and recycling advisory groups the importance of putting markets first. The text follows.