Industrial Recycling Resources & Industry Links
Curated industrial recycling resources for manufacturers, warehouses, and industrial facilities. Explore regulatory guidance, trade associations, material-specific references, tools, calculators, and education links to help your team design compliant, cost-effective recycling and landfill diversion programs.
Use this page as a starting point for learning more about industrial recycling, regulations, and markets. These external resources can help facility, EHS, and sustainability teams deepen their understanding of compliance, materials, and program design.
Regulatory & Compliance
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s central hub for material lifecycle analysis, landfill diversion goals, and circular economy principles. Includes tools for evaluating the environmental impacts of different waste management practices.
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Key federal regulations that govern the safe handling, storage, and transportation of hazardous industrial waste—critical for any recycling operation involving regulated materials.
Industry Associations
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The leading trade association for recycling companies across the U.S. Offers up-to-date news, safety standards, market data, and scrap specifications—especially valuable for those involved in metals and plastics recovery.
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A non-profit organization supporting waste reduction and recycling initiatives across the country. Offers legislative advocacy, education, and a national directory of programs.
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A newer trade body representing the recycled materials supply chain. Formerly part of ISRI, this group provides resources focused on sustainable material management, policy, and economics.
Material-Specific Information
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Data and position papers on aluminum recycling, scrap specifications, and closed-loop systems. Useful for companies generating aluminum hydroxide or similar byproducts.
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Covers innovations in plastics recycling, including chemical and mechanical processes relevant to industrial polymer waste like EPDM, LDPE, or ABS.
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The purpose of this directory is to connect buyers and sellers of recycled plastic commodities and resins. Explore the variety of recycled plastics that APR members purchase and sell. This directory now lets you search by resin, form and material source.
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Recycling turns asbestos, a durable, fibrous, and cancer-causing mineral, into harmless glass. Asbestos recycling is not often used due to its costs but may become a popular option in the future. Learn more about asbestos recycling and its benefits.
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The largest organization of wood packaging professionals in the world, with more than 800 company members in 40 countries who manufacture, repair and distribute pallets and wood packaging in unit-load solutions, or who supply products and services to the industry. They have a pallet recycling searchable database.
Tools & Calculators
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The APR model bale specifications provide industry-developed guidelines for recycling market acceptance of various post-consumer (including some post-commercial) recycled plastic bales. They are not intended to replace the specifications of individual buyers that may allow or prohibit different contents or bale sizes.
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Estimate the greenhouse gas emissions saved by diverting specific materials from landfill. Excellent for calculating sustainability report metrics for industrial recycling efforts.
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Quantifies the jobs, wages, and economic impact generated by the U.S. recycling industry—ideal for building internal business cases.
Education & General Recycling Knowledge
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EREF’s 2024 Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfill Tipping Fees provides comprehensive, data-driven insights into tipping fee trends across the U.S. waste industry. Anyone can download the report for free. They also have an interactive map.
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While focused on consumers, this tool provides insights into what materials are commonly accepted in recycling markets, which can inform industrial diversion strategies.
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Tracks general trends in the waste industry as well as a job board specifically for waste related jobs. The site also has a handy commodity tracker that provides a snapshot of the blended value of MRF related materials, primarily paper, OCC, and the major plastics.
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Book about how the success and popularity of recycling has diverted attention from the steep environmental costs of manufacturing the goods we consume and discard.
Industrial Waste Fundamentals:
Strategy & Optimization
FAQ Q&As for this page
Q1. Who is this resources page for?
This page is intended for facility managers, EHS teams, sustainability leaders, and operations managers who want reliable third-party information on industrial recycling, regulations, and markets.
Q2. Are these organizations and tools affiliated with Waste Optima?
No. These links point to independent organizations, agencies, and tools. Waste Optima selected them as helpful starting points, but they are not owned or controlled by Waste Optima.
Q3. Do these resources replace working with a recycling partner?
They complement, but don’t replace, a recycling partner. Use them to build background knowledge, understand regulations, and inform internal discussions while we help design site-specific programs and logistics.
Q4. How should I use these resources if I’m just getting started?
Start with regulatory and education links to understand basic requirements and concepts, then explore material-specific and tool sections for your main waste streams. From there, you can discuss options with your internal team and external partners.
Q5. How often is this page updated?
We aim to keep this list current as guidance, tools, and industry organizations evolve. When key links change or new high-value resources emerge, we update this page so it remains a useful reference.
Q6. Where can I find deeper how-to guidance from Waste Optima itself?
For deeper how-to content from Waste Optima, see our blog articles such as Industrial Recycling 101: A Guide for Manufacturers and other guides on beneficial reuse, materials, and program design.
Last updated: 2025-11-03