ISRI Looks at Climate Change Policy

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), based in Washington, has established a technical, multi-commodity working group of operational experts to address industrial recyclers’ key challenges and opportunities associated with climate change.

“Substantively addressing the issue of global climate change requires sound decision making that goes beyond mission statements,” ISRI President Robin Wiener, says. “We are aware that the scrap manufacturing process already contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Our goal is promote policy that provides even greater positive impact for our communities and our economy as we face this important, long-term challenge.”

ISRI invited representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (SEPW) to deliver global warming presentations during its summer board meeting in Washington. EPA demonstrated through its environmental benefits calculators the enormous savings that professional recyclers have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. SEPW staff suggested the need for the scrap industry to develop technical guidelines to support EPA’s calculations.

As a result, ISRI established a technical working group that includes professional recyclers of iron and steel, nonferrous metals, electronics, paper and rubber. The group will work to gather input from the industry and to develop further recommendations on how the scrap industry can address climate change.

Studies show that production of new materials from processed scrap saves energy and in turn helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Producing new aluminum from aluminum scrap saves 95 percent of the energy it takes to produce cans from bauxite ore, while making new copper from copper scrap reduces energy consumption by 85 percent. Using recycled material in the production of plastics reduces energy consumption by 80 percent. For iron and steel, the reduction is 74 percent, while paper sees a 64 percent savings.