Dive Brief:
- The recycling industry is an economy stimulator, producing $105 billion annually in the U.S., according to a recent economic impact study made public by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. The John Dunham and Associates consulting firm, of New York, NY, performed the study.
- The study quantifies the size of the U.S. scrap industry. The study only surveyed companies that call themselves recycling firms.
- Recycling creates about $4.4 billion in state and local revenue. The industry pays $6.8 billion in federal taxes each year.
Dive Insight:
At .68% of the nation’s economy, the scrap recycling industry is about as large as the data processing and hosting industry, in addition to the dental and automotive repair spheres. More than a quarter of the scrap recycling industry’s economic activity is related to exports.