The U.S. scrap recycling industry, which employs 138,000 men and women, is also a pivotal player in environmental protection, resource conservation, and sustainability.
The scrap recycling industry recycled more than 135 million metric tons of materials in 2011, thereby transforming society’s outdated and obsolete products and materials into useful raw materials needed to produce new products. In doing so, the scrap recycling industry has made great savings in both energy and natural resources and thus has had an extremely positive impact on our environment.
Further, by purchasing products at the end of their life and processing them back into raw materials used in the manufacture of new products, scrap recycling reduces the need for virgin materials, such as iron ore, trees, and other natural resources.
Scrap recycling offers real sustainable solutions for balancing economic growth and environmental stewardship. Scrap recycling stimulates economies from small towns in rural America to major cities to international trade. The result is economic and environmental sustainability for our nation and our world.
Recycling Saves Energy
Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions by significantly saving the amount of energy needed to manufacture the products that we buy, build and use. The energy saved by recycling can then be used for more important purposes, such as heating our homes and powering our automobiles. The scrap recycling industry takes the job of environmental steward extremely seriously.
