Each year over $100 billion of recycled scrap commodities are traded in the U.S. and around the globe – including paper, plastics, steel, copper, and aluminum, as well as glass, tires, and electronics. For the past century, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ (ISRI) specifications published in the Scrap Specification Circular (commonly known as the ISRI Specs) have guided these transactions.
“Recycling is a commodity-based industry that provides manufacturers around the globe with valuable feedstock. The terminology and standards in the hundreds of ISRI Specs provide a common language for the global recycling community that allows everyone – regardless of their spoken language or geographical distance from their trading partner — to immediately understand what is being shipped and what tolerances are allowable in the material,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “Recycled materials are lower in cost, more energy efficient, and environmentally friendly compared to virgin feedstock. And as manufacturers are looking to increase the amount of recycled content in products, specifications are becoming increasingly important.”
First published in December 1919, ISRI’s scrap specifications have become the universal language for scrap buyers and sellers in domestic and international trades. Similar to what grades are to gasoline, ISRI specifications for the last 100 years have been providing the understanding of the quality or composition for each scrap commodity.
Specifications are designed to reflect what is actually being traded in the market. As new products are developed, specifications are created or adjusted. For example, specifications are currently under review to address new technology used in food packaging. ISRI Specs help facilitate product recycling and market development.
“Specifications also help promote international trade,” continued Wiener. “They are used as the basis for transactions in countries such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, and Brazil. In fact, import regulations in India, Australia, and the U.S. that require scrap shipments align with ISRI Specs to differentiate valuable recyclable commodities from unacceptable material.”