ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries) is committed to battling materials and metals theft.

We have been working diligently to bring together stakeholders law enforcement, metal recyclers, community leaders and theft victims in collaborative efforts to combat materials theft. This included a major meeting in Detroit, in 2011 sponsored by ISRI with multiple MI Law Enforcement agencies, Utilities, a Railroad and more than a dozen Recycling Operations to discuss and help implement Best Practices to reduce theft. The meeting was well attended and viewed as being a positive factor in addressing this important issue. Materials theft becomes a serious problem for the recycling industry every time commodities prices (such as copper, aluminum, nickel) increase. These thefts are a burden and can be a safety crisis for our communities, law enforcement and businesses. We are part of the solution, not the problem. Too often, people who dont understand our industry simply link metal theft with metal recyclers. In fact, many law enforcement officers will tell you that Recycling Operations are their greatest source of information in combating these thefts. Also, Recyclers are often the victims of this theft. Criminals will break in to recycling operations to steal valuable scrap materials to then sell to the next recycling operation or even to sell back to our operation the next day! It is nearly impossible to distinguish stolen scrap material from the far larger amount of legitimate material that comes in each day. Our industry has taken proactive steps to combat theft. ISRI started its fight against materials theft many years ago. In many cases, ISRI members were checking identification, asking for signatures to sell materials, photographing materials and installing expensive ATMs that take photographs of people, long before most state laws required some of these actions. The scrap recycling industry also instituted a scrap theft alert system at its own cost, starting with fax machines to notify scrap processors about thefts in their area. As technology advanced, so did our system. Today with significant input from a Michigan ISRI member, ISRI hosts a free Web based law enforcement reporting tool called ScrapTheftAlert.com which is used by dozens of Law Enforcement organizations across the United States.

This website allows law enforcement to alert recyclers of reported stolen material and allows recyclers to alert area law enforcement when they have received materials they believe might have been stolen. In summary, the Recycling industry has been and will continue to team with Law Enforcement and other organizations to stop metal theft. Theft is a problem for the community and it takes it takes away from very important positive factors involving Recycling. Lastly, recycling remains a key to our countrys competiveness including reducing oil imports, due to the enormous energy savings by using recycled materials in manufacturing, vs. raw materials. Also, the Recycling industry exported nearly $30 billion of materials to 155 countries in 2010. Importantly recycling is very important to Michigan jobs. While nationally, recycling directly and indirectly supports an enormous 459,000+ jobs, 15,000+ are right here in Michigan. At 15,000+ jobs for Michigan, that is equivalent to the employment of about six (6) typical automotive assembly plants.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the Voice of the Recycling Industry. ISRI represents more than 1,500 companies in 21 chapters nationwide that process, broker, and consume scrap commodities, including metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics, and textiles. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Institute provides education, advocacy, and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global trade, the environment and sustainable development. For more information about ISRI, please visit www.ISRI.org.