ISRI Applauds Obama’s America Recycles Day 2010
November 17, 2010
Washington, D.C. — The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, (ISRI) applauds the President’s proclamation of November 15, 2010 recognizing the important contributions of recycling; including conserving our natural resources, protecting the environment and creating green jobs.
ISRI further applauds the President’s call for increased conservation and sustainability, improved recycling efforts, and preparing a national strategy for recycling materials in a manner that both safeguards human health and the environment.
Accordingly, ISRI fully supports the President’s efforts towards establishing an interagency task force charged with preparing a national strategy for responsible recycling of electronics. The national framework set out by the President for the Task Force mirrors ISRI’s own policies and initiatives focusing on ensuring environmentally sustainable and responsible recycling practices through downstream due diligence for electronics and other similar practices in compliance with domestic and international laws, as well as encouraging manufacturers to consider end-of-life issues of their products at the design stage.
ISRI particularly applauds the President’s directive to the task force that it “include a strategy to build capacity within and share best practices with developing countries, so they can improve their ability to safely handle used electronics, while promoting economic development.”
ISRI has long held that simple bans on export are counterproductive and that the best opportunity to have a significant impact on boosting global environmental sustainability is for stakeholders – including recyclers – to teach entities in developing countries how to improve safety and environmental conditions through the sharing of best management practices and industry know-how, something ISRI has already begun in China. Positive intervention has the added benefit of boosting economic development and job creation while effectively turning the tide on irresponsible recycling.
ISRI, along with stakeholders from the OEM community, the states, other recyclers, and the environmental community, worked together in conjunction with the EPA to develop a set of recycling standards for electronics – R2 to help ensure that end-of-life electronics are properly recycled in environmentally protective methods.
R2 specifically prohibits exports except where legal and only under specified conditions designed to protect the environment and workers. For more information about R2, visit www.r2solutions.org.
In addition, ISRI has urged manufacturers for more than twenty years to eliminate or reduce the use of hazardous or toxic materials, in their products, as well as to discourage them from the use of materials that are not recyclable. Visit ISRI’s Design for Recycling® initiatives for more.
ISRI stands ready to work with the President and his Administration to further develop best recycling practices that both support a stronger economy and are environmentally sustainable here in the U.S. and globally.
Visit America Recycles Day Presidential Proclamation for more.
For more infomation regarding the creation of the interagency task force, read the letter from Nancy H. Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
###
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the “Voice of the Recycling Industry.” ISRI represents more than 1,550 companies in 21 chapters nationwide that process, broker, and consume scrap commodities, including metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics, and textiles. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., ISRI provides education, advocacy, and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global trade and environment. For more information about ISRI, please visit www.isri.org
