WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 18, 2015) — Keep America Beautiful, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), and the Congressional Recycling Caucus are hosting a briefing today at 12:00 p.m. (EST) on the “State of Recycling,” highlighting the current economic, environmental, and social impact of recycling in the U.S., and related policy issues. The event is taking place in Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill and livestreamed at www.isri.org/stateofrecycling.

Speakers include Recycling Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) and Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ); Robin Wiener, President, ISRI; and Jennifer Jehn, President and CEO, Keep America Beautiful.

“Recycling is the first link in the manufacturing supply chain, and currently is estimated to supply 40 percent of global raw material needs,” said Wiener. “The U.S. recycling industry annual transforms more than 135 million metric tons of obsolete materials from consumers, businesses, and manufacturers into useful raw materials for manufacture into new products. Those recyclable commodities were valued at approximately $80 billion last year, a nearly three-fold increase since 2000.”

“Recycling plays an important role in sustainable materials management, and we will continue to educate, motivate and activate people to better understand the ‘how, what, where and why’ of recycling today and in the future,” said Jehn. “We must all be unified in helping to encourage the American people to recycle more of the right things the right way, while working together to address the challenges to make recycling even more successful.

The State of Recycling Address 2015 Address on Capitol Hill

  • Remarks delivered by Jennifer M. Jehn, President & CEO Keep America Beautiful. [PDF]
  • Remarks delivered by Robin K. Wiener, President, ISRI. [PDF]

ISRI is the Voice of the Recycling Industry™. ISRI represents more than 1,600 companies in 21 chapters nationwide that process, broker and industrially consume scrap commodities.

About Keep America Beautiful
At Keep America Beautiful, we want to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. We envision a country where every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people end littering in America, increase recycling in America, and beautify America’s communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To learn how you can donate or take action, visit kab.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, or view us onYouTube.