Industrial Recycling Resources & Industry Links

Regulatory & Compliance

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.
Key federal regulations that govern the safe handling, storage, and transportation of hazardous industrial waste—critical for any recycling operation involving regulated materials.

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.
A non-profit organization supporting waste reduction and recycling initiatives across the country. Offers legislative advocacy, education, and a national directory of programs.
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.

Data and position papers on aluminum recycling, scrap specifications, and closed-loop systems. Useful for companies generating aluminum hydroxide or similar byproducts.
Covers innovations in plastics recycling, including chemical and mechanical processes relevant to industrial polymer waste like EPDM, LDPE, or ABS.
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.
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.
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.

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.
Estimate the greenhouse gas emissions saved by diverting specific materials from landfill. Excellent for calculating sustainability report metrics for industrial recycling efforts.
Quantifies the jobs, wages, and economic impact generated by the U.S. recycling industry—ideal for building internal business cases.

While focused on consumers, this tool provides insights into what materials are commonly accepted in recycling markets, which can inform industrial diversion strategies.
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.
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.