ISRI’s BeMore Quiz

1. What is your DART rate? Why is it important?
• The Days Away, Restricted Work or Transfer (DART) rate is a measure of the severity of injuries and is one of OSHA’s primary gauges for judging the effectiveness of your safety program.  ISRI Safety Outreach Services help members understand what these statistics mean and also help identify and correct the underlying issues at member facilities that result in workplace injuries.

2. Do you know the regulations and/or rules for CFCs, CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA or PCBs? Are you in regulatory compliance with these laws?

• The laws and regulations related to the acronyms above are just a few of the ones that can affect scrap recyclers everywhere. Failure to understand and comply with them can result in heavy fines or a business shut down. ISRI helps you understand what you need to know to run your business, how to do it safely and effectively.   

3. Does your business export scrap on a regular basis? If not, but assuming you would like to, do you know how and to where to get started?



• In 2010, nearly $30 billion in scrap was exported from the United States to more than 155 countries around the globe. ISRI staff help provide the expertise companies need to successfully navigate the export markets worldwide.   

4. Are you aware of your liability under Superfund?

• In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, which set the stage for the unfair imposition of costly liability on recyclers for their shipment of commodity grade scrap to their consumers.  It was estimated in the 1990s that more than two-thirds of scrap businesses were named as potentially responsible parties in Superfund sites, within individual liabilities and associated legal costs in the millions. 
• As a result of ISRI’s lobbying efforts, the Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA) of 1999 was passed and now provides an exemption from Superfund liability for scrap recyclers, but it is not automatic. Under SREA, the exemption can only be utilized by companies that, among other things, exercise “reasonable care.” To quote the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “SREA places the burden of proof on private parties seeking to establish their eligibility for the recycling exemption from CERCLA liability.”  You must be able to show that you have done everything you could to know that your customers are in compliance with applicable environmental laws.  ISRI helps you exercise reasonable care and ensure you receive the protection of SREA by providing you the reports you need for companies you do business with on an annual basis at little to no charge.  Such reports, in the private market, typically cost $500 each.  

5. Do local, state and federal policymakers understand the issues that affect your business?

• Each year, Congress, state legislatures and city councils draft legislation and regulations that can affect every part of our industry: tag and hold, SREA compliance, stormwater, materials theft and vehicle detitling to name just a few. Each of these issues directly affects how your business runs and your bottom line.  ISRI’s national grass roots program, annual congressional “fly in” and regional chapters can help you in making your voice heard.

6. Do you know where to go and how to work out disputes when shipping by rail, ocean carrier or truck?

• The federal government regulates commerce and transportation of goods and materials shipped into, throughout and out of the United States.  As a result, the federal government operates offices such as the Federal Maritime Commission, the Surface Transportation Board or the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Commission.  These federal offices all have dispute resolution services and often can spur a shipper to re-examine a dispute that arrives with a better result for the shipper.  ISRI has helped its members navigate this process with successful outcomes.

7. Do you know your annual safety training requirements and are they up-to-date?

• At least 18 different OSHA regulations require annual training. ISRI Safety Outreach Services help you identify which of these requirements applies to your facility and in many cases can provide the required training to your employees free of charge. 

8. What do you read when you need to know the latest on market trends? Commodities? Prices?

• ISRI provides weekly and monthly commodity reports discussing the current market trends as well as webinars with leading industry analysts discussing where they believe the markets are heading – all free to members.  Additionally, our Commodities Roundtable, held each year in Chicago, brings together hundreds of traders, scrap processors and consumers looking to gain an edge in understanding market conditions while meeting people from all over the world. It provides in-depth, current market analysis and future projections on aluminum, copper, ferrous, nickel/stainless, plastics and other commodities as well as other topics of importance to the scrap recycling industry.

9. Do you know how and where to get the latest education and training specific to the scrap recycling industry for your employees?

• One of ISRI’s primary duties is to make sure the scrap recycling industry can access industry-specific education and training.  Our Operations Forum provides instruction and certification on a host of topics including shredder maintenance, yard layouts, metals identification and human resources to name a few – it even offers a scrap yard tour to boot. Our annual Convention and Expo offers insight about the latest issues and challenges to the industry, networking opportunities with peers from all over the world and access to the suppliers that can help you fulfill all your equipment needs. 

10. Where can you go to meet and network with thousands of your peers, from the yard down the street to the broker 12,000 miles away?

• ISRI’s chapter and national events bring together scrap processors and brokers from all over the world.  ISRI’s membership directory provides the contact information.  With ISRI, you can make the connections to expand your business and access new markets.