ISRI: Scrap Recycling Uniquely Positioned for Today's World

WASHINGTON, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Imagine a world without recycling! It would be a dramatically different place, with more pollution and greenhouse gases, increased energy use, and dramatically faster depletion of our virgin natural resources. The scrap recycling industry annually transforms more than 150 million tons of obsolete materials from consumers, businesses and manufacturers into useful raw materials. It is estimated that 60 percent of the metals and alloys produced in the U.S. are made from nonferrous scrap. Two out of three lbs. of steel made in the U.S. is manufactured using ferrous scrap. In doing so, the scrap recycling industry delivers great savings in both energy and natural resources, delivering an extremely positive impact on the environment. It is estimated that scrap accounts for 40 percent of the world's raw material needs. Scrap recycling reduces energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change, while maintaining a steady supply of raw materials for America's manufacturing economy. Did you know that... 106,000 aluminum cans are thrown in the garbage every 30 seconds. Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television set for three hours. Recycling aluminum uses 96 percent less energy than it takes to produce the same amount of aluminum from raw materials. Two million plastic bottles are dumped every 5 minutes. Recycling a single plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours. You can make an adult-sized fleece jacket from 25 plastic soda bottles. Recycling one automobile saves the energy equivalent of 502 gallons of gasoline and reduces the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 8,811 lbs. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 79 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of water, and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill. These are just some of the many ways that the scrap recycling industry protects the earth's air, water and land, allowing society to have less impact on the planet and directly contributing to today's and tomorrow's quality of life. "As the original recyclers, for decades -- and indeed centuries -- the scrap recycling industry has been purchasing, processing, and brokering old materials to be remade into new products, providing critical resources for America's manufacturing industries," stated Robin Wiener, president of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., (ISRI), the national trade association for the scrap recycling industry. "Now, with the growing societal focus on protecting our natural resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the scrap recycling industry is being recognized as the world's largest and oldest environmental industry, while also playing a prominent role as an economic leader, job creator, major exporter, and environmental steward." One of the key challenges in today's world -- both for the scrap recycling industry and our society at large -- is how to incorporate sustainable recycling practices into the everyday decisions we make for ourselves and our businesses. As a result, there is a renewed interest in manufacturing products that can be easily recycled at the end of their useful lives. Such products will use recycled content and conserve our natural resources and avoid ending up in landfills and threatening our environment. ISRI has established a policy known as Design for Recycling(R) (DfR) as one of the ways in which to address this environmental challenge. The goals of ISRI's DfR program are to increase the use of recycled content in products; encourage pre-production planning for safe and efficient recycling by eliminating hazardous and non-recyclable substances from the production/manufacturing process; eliminating the use of materials that would serve as impediment to recycling; and, to increase the yield of recyclables recovered from a product at the end of its useful life. Unfortunately, too many decisions to use or not use a particular material in the manufacturing process are made without regard to the cost, safety, or even probability of eventual recycling. Some resistance to improved design is caused by questions about whether currently feasible substitutes are available, such as lead in a lead-acid battery. In other cases, materials are chosen because they are economical. A bolt used to hold together the frame of an automobile might be coated with cadmium to prevent rust, which happens to be a dangerous pollutant that is difficult to recycle. A stainless steel bolt works just as well, but it also costs more. At long last, political leaders are realizing that government regulation, usually applied only at the end of the product cycle, does not adequately address potentially hazardous and non-recyclable wastes. More and more, efforts are starting to focus on ensuring that manufacturers design and build their products so they can be safely and economically recycled. In fact, recent action by the Committee on Science and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives addressed this issue head-on when it favorably reported to the House a bill (H.R. 1580) that provides for research and development towards designing electronic devices for recycling. ISRI will be presenting its next Design for Recycling(R) Award during the upcoming 2009 ISRI Convention and Exposition to Herman Miller Inc., designer and manufacturer of office furniture and seating. Since identifying solid waste as its greatest environmental issue back in 1991, this exceptional company has reduced the wastes it sends to landfills from 41 million pounds to just 4 million pounds. Its environmental stewardship program, established in 1980, has resulted in 90 percent of its products being recycled or refurbished, with current products having 63 percent recycled product content. In fact, one of its chairs is 100 percent recyclable. While Herman Miller and other companies have taken many steps to incorporate Design for Recycling(R) into their policies and procedures, we strongly encourage other manufacturers to embrace recycling, ensuring a more sustainable economy and environment. ISRI is committed to working with manufacturers to incorporate sustainability into their strategic thinking and day-to-day activities and thereby ensuring that everyone is doing their part to recycle. "In the 21st century, the scrap recycling industry is uniquely positioned to meet the challenges to today's world ... a leading economic engine for America providing real solutions that help protect and sustain the earth's environment," stated Wiener. For more information on scrap recycling, go to www.isri.org. Website: http://www.isri.org/