The Original Recyclers--Still Stewards of the Environment

The bin is just the beginning.  That’s what the U.S. scrap recycling industry would tell you.  And before a minute passes, you’d learn like I did that there’s no such thing as waste in nature, as attributed to George Washington Carver, who, among numerous other things, elevated the lowly peanut into the biggest crop since cotton and found hundreds of uses for it. Everything can be re-used, re-invented, re-made, or re-engineered into something else to meet the needs of earth’s plant and animal life.  Scrap is big business and these days, it’s good to have a friend in the scrap business because these companies can and should be close allies in helping offices to meet their recycling and waste management goals. 

I met Danielle Waterfield,  Assistant Counsel and Director of Governmental Relations for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) at a CWAG conference we both attended.  Danielle quickly accelerated my awareness and appreciation of the scrap industry, “the original recyclers”, she said proudly.  I’ve taken a closer look at the Institute’s website and discovered that there is a bounty of useful fact sheets and current news about recycling and waste management issues that green teams can use.  From facts and tips for employee newsletters, to comparison info for annual reports on an agency’s recycling efforts, to more in-depth subject content on various materials categories and regulatory actions at local, state, and federal levels, ISRI is a resource to bookmark. 

ISRI is a trade association of 1,600 member companies that employ more than 130,000 people and operate 6000 facilities in the US and 30 other countries.  ISRI represents the concerns, interests, and recommendations of the scrap industry before legislative and policy bodies.  It provides its members with vital guidelines and assistance to meet regulatory requirements, adopt best practices, and network with business colleagues. The membership includes manufacturers and processors, brokers and industrial consumers of scrap commodities, including ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper, electronics, rubber, plastics, glass and textiles. 

The scrap recycling industry recycled more than 130 million metric tons of materials in 2010, which is available to be transformed into useful raw materials needed to produce new products. In doing so, the scrap recycling industry plays a stewardship role in environmental protection, resource conservation, and sustainability.  Without their help and ingenuity, there’d be no “cradle to cradle” for the empty, obsolete, used-up, or broken items that we drop in the marked bins in our offices.  The bin, indeed, is just the beginning.