House Recycling Caucus

HOUSE RECYCLING CAUCUS

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend Members of the other body, Mrs. SNOWE of Maine and Mr. Carper of Delaware, for forming the Senate Recycling Caucus. Their effort compliments the prior formation of the House Recycling Caucus, which I was proud to establish with the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Gillmor.

I would suggest that the House and Senate Recycling Caucuses work together on issues facing the recycling industry in the United States. I would also like to urge my colleagues here in the House to join our respective caucuses.

When most of us think of recycling, we think either of the bright blue bins in our offices, or of collecting cans, bottles and newspapers at home. As important as municipal recycling is to our country, however, it represents just the tip of the iceberg of the $30 billion-plus manufacturing industry that employs over 1.1 million Americans.

Most of us are probably also unaware that recyclables is one of our country's largest export commodities and are also one of the bright stars in our country's balance of trade.

Many like myself see recycling as an important environmental issue facing our country, but there are a whole host of other issues that face, and possibly inhibit, recycling in the United States, far beyond just getting people to throw cans in the proper receptacle. That is why we created the Recycling Caucus, so we can focus our efforts on this important sector and address not only environmental issues, but also issues of trade, energy and commerce.

Chief among those issues is the very simple statement that should guide any legislative efforts that impact this industry. Recyclables are not just waste and recycling is not just disposal. In fact, recycling is the opposite of both. By thinking of recycling as waste and recycling as a disposal activity like trash or garbage collection, we risk encouraging unintended consequences that can and do inhibit recycling.

We need to avoid inhibiting recycling efforts because the benefits are tremendous. For example, recycling kept over 140 million tons of material out of landfills last year. In addition, manufacturing products from recycled materials save energy. For example, using recycled aluminum can save as much as 95 percent of the energy used when producing products from virgin ore. Recycling also reduces eight major categories of water pollutants and ten major categories of air pollutants, including greenhouse gas emissions, compared with manufacturing from scratch.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank my caucus cochair, Mr. Gillmor of Ohio, and our other colleagues who have already joined us on the House Recycling Caucus. I also want to thank the members and staff of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries for their assistance over the past 2 years in helping us make the idea of the caucus into a reality.

The Recycling Caucus is a broad-based caucus that will address all facets of recycling, with input from a wide range of associations, industry groups, experts, environmental organizations and other stakeholders.

Again I want to wish Mrs. SNOWE and Mr. Carper much success in the other body. I look forward to working with them to promote all aspects of recycling in the United States.

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