Ms. Robin Wiener, President, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (“ISRI”), undertook a presentation at the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association Federal-State Meeting titled:
Commodities Markets & Prices: Impacts on State Economies & the Environment (“Presentation”)
The meeting was held March 16th in Washington, D.C.
ISRI (trademarked @ISRI) is a national trade association whose members include 1,300 companies that collect, manufacture, broker, consume, transport, and process various types of recyclables such as ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper, plastics, tire/rubber, textiles and electronics.
The National Lieutenant Governors Association had previously adopted a resolution supporting the concept that recyclables are not waste.
ISRI was asked to be a part of a panel discussion at the meeting designed to convey the impacts of commodity markets on the state economies.
The overall focus of the Presentation was the economic impact of the scrap recycling industry. For example, Ms. Wiener noted that jobs supported by the United States scrap recycling industry in 2015 totaled:
- Direct 149,010
- Supplier 171,350
- Induced 151,227
The source of these statistics is: “Economic Impact Study U.S.-Based Scrap Recycling Industry,” John Dunham and Associates, 2015.
The study also concluded that the total economic impact of the recycling industry was $105.8 billion with 11.2 billion in federal, state and local taxes paid.
The Presentation noted that between 30 and 40% of all scrap processed in the United States is exported every year. Total exported tons per year is 40 million metric with a value of $21 billion. These numbers are produced by the more than 8000 recycling facilities operating in the United States.
As to state implications, the inter-relationship with commodity markets, recycling incentives and sustainable solutions was addressed. Ms. Wiener noted that energy saved using recycled materials has been determined to be:
- 95% for aluminum
- 88% for plastic
- 60% for steel
- 75% for copper
- 60% for paper
- 34% for glass
Ms. Wiener addressed the future noting:
- “Hope for upturn in 2017: Hints at rising commodity prices”
- Relevance of political/government factors
- Heightened uncertainty about future policy changes and unintended consequences of protectionist measures
A copy of Presentation can be downloaded here.
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