2019 ISRI Annual Report

ISRI.ORG 9 2019 Annual Report Impact in a Year of Change ISRI members conducted more than 100 meetings on Capitol Hill to educate members of Congress on key industry issues during the annual Fly-In in Washington, D.C. Working closely with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, ISRI ensured that the Senate- passed “Save Our Seas” bill included recycling market development initiatives and ISRI language that will provide a precedent in federal law, if enacted, that distinguishes scrap from waste and recycling from waste management. Our efforts avoided inadvertent negative impacts on recyclers while providing opportunities specifically for the industry. We also actively worked with legislators on both sides of Congress on legislation that would provide public education and awareness of the importance of recycling and also increase recycling by encouraging manufacturers to Design for Recycling ® . ISRI actively opposed other legislative proposals that would have adversely affected recycling by imposing fees, bans, and other impractical restrictions. ISRI again successfully fought off attempts to restrict the exports of used electronics , both on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Commerce, by arguing that free and open markets are both environmentally and economically preferable to such restrictions. At the invitation of the EPA, ISRI helped plan and lead the America Recycles Summit for industry stakeholders and an innovation fair, in which several winners of ISRI’s Design for Recycling ® award participated. During the summit, working groups on education and outreach, infrastructure, market development, and measurement reported on their work to improve the recycling sector in the United States. In conjunction with America Recycles Day, ISRI organized the fourth annual State of Recycling briefing on Capitol Hill with the Congressional Recycling Caucus. The briefing emphasized the importance of Design for Recycling ® for a sustainable future as well as the importance of market demand initiatives. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler addressed the ISRI Board of Directors at its summer meeting, highlighting the positive relationship between the EPA and ISRI that has helped promote recycling and elevate the importance of the industry. Wheeler referenced ISRI’s previous work on airbags and mercury switches, among other accomplishments. “ ” More than 40 key industry stakeholders, including ISRI, signed a pledge to work with EPA and others to address what we see as the four major challenges: public education, materials management infrastructure, developing secondary markets, and measurement methodologies. ISRI was a significant contributor in the development of this pledge and remains a prominent voice in these efforts. –Andrew Wheeler, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator