The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is applauding the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in U.S. congress. The $1.75 trillion Act includes the funds needed to fix and upgrade roads and bridges, freight and passenger railways, ports and waterways, broadband, and invest in environmentally sustainable energy. Importantly, it also includes language from the RECYCLE Act, of which ISRI was a lead architect.
According to ISRI, recycling is an essential part of the infrastructure of the United States, and is only becoming more essential as we move as a nation - and a global community - towards a circular economy in an effort to preserve our planet's finite natural resources and address climate change through reduced greenhouse gas emissions. It is for this reason that ISRI supports investments to strengthen our country's aging infrastructure and provide for a 21st-century transportation system that will allow us to efficiently transport raw materials and feedstocks to manufacturers throughout the nation and the globe, using all modes of transportation, covering rail, surface, and waterways.
"I am excited to see the progress made at moving us closer to much needed infrastructure investments, and am especially happy to see that the Senate included the RECYCLE Act as an integral part of the infrastructure package," said ISRI President Robin Wiener. "The RECYCLE Act addresses one of the most persistent problems when it comes to residential recycling: knowing what does -and does not - go into the recycling bin. Appropriating $75 million in funds for EPA to distribute to states, tribes, and other organizations for consumer education will lead to increased recycling awareness, reduced contamination in the residential recycling stream, and increased volumes of higher quality recyclables for processing into new manufactured products."
Under the RECYCLE Act, EPA is also required to develop a model recycling program toolkit and to review its Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines, which designate products containing recycled materials and recommends that federal agencies buy those products. This is another proven strategy for increasing recycling and strengthening the circular economy.
ISRI says it is grateful to Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) on his leadership and for working with the association on the development of the RECYCLE Act. ISRI is grateful as well, to all those Republican and Democratic Senators who worked together over the last several weeks and months, in the best interests of all the people of the United States, to bring to passage the very important and much needed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
