ISRI has sent a letter, signed by President Robin Wiener and Chair Gary Champlin, to President-Elect Joe Biden to congratulate him on his win, introduce him to the recycling industry, and emphasize recycling’s benefits.

The letter highlights the importance of the recycling industry to the manufacturing sector, noting that more than 40% of raw material needs are met by recycled feedstock, including for material being produced to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. It also stresses the role of recycling in fighting climate change, pointing to the drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions metals production facilities and paper mills achieve by using scrap input.

President-Elect Biden has made combating the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate change crisis key priorities for his administration. On his transition website, Biden points toward supporting American manufacturing with his plan to “ramp up production of masks, face shields, and other PPE” and “build immediately toward a future, flexible American-sourced and manufactured capability.” His climate change plan includes infrastructural investments in roads, bridges, and other building projects that could raise the demand for scrap.

“We look forward to working with the new administration and continuing momentum on advancing policies and initiatives that support recycling,” Adina Renee Adler, ISRI’s vice president of advocacy, says.