Washington – Recently, I asked the member of my staff who handles recycling issues to tour several different recycling facilities in Baltimore, Maryland. I serve as co-chair of the Senate Recycling Caucus along with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and I’m also a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Sen. Snowe and I are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the various segments of the industry, as well as the obstacles we face on the path toward more profitable, more extensive recycling practices. I’ve asked my staff member to share her experience with you as well and to talk about our goals moving forward to address recycling issues in this Congress and in America. Here’s what she has to say:

Senator Carper asked me to visit Baltimore because there are a number of different recycling facilities in the city that could provide us with insight about the current state of the recycling industry nationwide. Just within a four-square mile portion of west Baltimore, I visited four very different facilities and each serves a similar purpose: turning used or discarded products into commodities with user value and market value.

My day began at the Computer Donation Management (CDM) facility. It was impressive and a bit overwhelming to observe the range of products the facility takes in – everything from old televisions and computers to household appliances, batteries, and even skis. Technicians at CDM test the electronics and perform repairs and upgrades for product resale or donation. If a piece of equipment cannot be resold, it is deemed recyclable, dismantled and sorted within the facility, then sold to a recycling or manufacturing entity. At each stage of the process, the goal is to eliminate landfill waste and maximize recovery of raw materials.

Electronics waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing portion of our waste stream, and potentially hazardous portion, as well. If managed improperly, e-waste can risk exposure to harmful metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. Electronics recycling companies like CDM perform a valuable service in keeping hazardous materials out of our waste stream, while at the same time meeting a market demand for refurbished electronics, raw materials and precious metals. 

My second stop was United Iron & Metal, which fit my vision of a traditional scrap yard. I got the chance to climb up to the top of the shredder and observe the demolition process. Cars, vending machines, refrigerators and countless other products are delivered to the yard every day for scrapping. Technicians operate heavy machinery to cut, carry and condense the scrap. Powerful magnets lift and sort the metals, which are sent through a shredder, and transported by conveyer belts into an empty rail car or other storage unit. United Iron & Metal fills several rail cars each day with recycled metal that are shipped directly to market.

In a much quieter area of the facility, technicians receive a steady stream of visitors who come to drop off recyclable materials. The collector’s information is recorded, the materials are sorted and weighed, and the collector is paid based on the materials’ value. The collection facility had large boxes of wires, pipes and even a box full of old keys. The phrase “one man’s trash is another’s treasure” kept coming to mind.

My third destination was the Emmanuel Tire Company facility, which has been in operation since 1957. On the heels of the scrap yard visit, Emmanuel Tire provided an important insight into the industry: recycling is an age-old profession that has been profitable long before the environmental movement. Emmanuel Tire is a national leader in the rubber reclaim industry, and the company helps develop new uses for shredded tires. Tire chips can be processed for use in landfill barriers, asphalt, septic system drainage fields, mulch, new tire manufacturing and more.

The Emmanuel facility restores and sells thousands of like-new tires and tires in useful condition each month. I observed Baltimore residents in old cars and new luxury cars alike visiting the facility to purchase tires. Emmanuel’s shredder processes millions of tries each year, using magnets and conveyor belts to remove the steel and non-rubber material, both of which possess scrap resale value.    

The final stop of the day was Vangel Paper, which has been providing paper shredding and secure data destruction services since 1988. Vangel’s office recycling program provides office buildings with paper, plastic and aluminum can receptacles, which Vangel workers collect and transport to the facility for sorting. The company also provides waste audits to offices and helps clients accumulate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits.

According to federal regulations, virtually every business has data that needs to be rendered incapable of use and identification prior to disposal. At the facility, the paper is shredded and baled into various quality delineations, such as white paper and mixed paper. As is the case for much of the recycling industry, Vangel’s largest clients for shredded paper are companies in China.  

Through recycling we reduce our landfill input, preserve precious resources and virgin material, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. For every ton of mixed paper that is recycled, the equivalent of 185 gallons of gasoline is saved. Recycled aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy that would have been needed to produce new aluminum from ore, while recycled plastic saves more than 80 percent of the energy needed to produce new plastic.

The recycling industry also possesses a great deal of economic value and green-collar job creation potential. According to an Environmental Protection Agency study, the recycling industry currently supports 3.2 million jobs. For every job on the curb collecting recyclables, there are 26 more U.S. jobs in processing and manufacturing those recycled materials into new products. Scrap metals continue to be one of America’s largest exports. 

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