2019 ISRI Annual Report

ISRI.ORG 27 2019 Annual Report Impact in a Year of Change ISRI released the 2019 Scrap Recycling Industry Economic Impact Study in September 2019. Prepared by economic consulting firm John Dunham & Associates, the 2019 update confirms that the recycling industry continues to be a powerful force in the U.S. economy. In addition to its positive environmental benefits, the recycling industry is responsible for more than 531,500 jobs in the United States and has an overall economic impact of nearly $110 billion. 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the ISRI specifications . First published in December 1919, the ISRI Specs are the universal language for scrap buyers and sellers in domestic and international trade. Through its law enforcement outreach program , ISRI participated in numerous metals theft workshops and law enforcement training activities across the country. ISRI also became a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Crime Prevention Committee. ISRI’s ScrapTheftAlert.com system ended the year with nearly 27,000 total users, of which approximately 12,400 are law enforcement officers from around the country. Scrap magazine continued its coverage of essential industry concerns. Commodity-focused stories addressed topics including residential recycling; ocean plastics and chemical recycling of plastics; recovered paper quality , supply, and demand; electronics refurbishment and recovering precious metals; and innovative markets for recycled rubber. Management features addressed hiring challenges, metals theft, environmental justice, and recalled auto parts. Safety topics included opioid abuse , near-miss reporting, electric vehicle battery safety , silica dust hazards, electronics recycling hazards, and radiation detection. Operations-oriented features addressed shredder energy use , drive shaft protection, yard traffic management, and the newest downstream separation equipment. Scrap was recognized for the quality of its reporting and writing by the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ Mid-Atlantic region. It received a silver award for single-topic coverage by a team for its overall coverage of China’s changing import regulations in 2018. Editorial Director Rachel H. Pollack also won a bronze award for her Commentary column. ISRI redesigned the 2019 Recycling Industry Yearbook to be more accessible and user-friendly for the public, journalists, and policymakers while providing the most up-to-date information on the industry. ISRI staff members actively engaged with media outlets to promote ISRI as the leading source of information about the scrap recycling industry, including by conducting interviews with the Wall Street Journal , New York Times , Bloomberg, Earth911, and other news outlets. ISRI helped shape the newest version of the Responsible Recycling (R2) standard for electronics recycling, introducing new aspects to the standard such as data protection and strengthening worker safety, auditing, and compliance requirements.