From Site Visits to Engaging Policymakers – How ReMA Celebrated America Recycles Day 2025
In honor of America Recycles Day on Saturday, November 15, ReMA and its members participated in a variety of events and activities throughout the week of November 10. Association staff spent the week engaging with policymakers, showcasing the important work of the industry, and the essential nature of recycled materials to a sustainable, resilient, and stable manufacturing supply chain. Here is a sample of the visits from this week:
On Monday, November 10, SA Recycling hosted a legislative tour at their Gwinnett facility in northeast metro Atlanta. In addition to ReMA Chair Colin Kelly, their special guest was Georgia state representative, Lauren McDonald (R) Cumming, GA – District 26. Rep. McDonald, who also serves as floor leader for Governor Brian Kemp, toured the facility and learned about the positive attributes of this facility as well as the Georgia recycled metals industry. Rep. McDonald also learned about the industry’s huge economic impact and environmental benefits as well as the large number of jobs directly and indirectly supports. Also discussed were matters regarding transportation issues, as well as regulatory and legislative challenges.
On Wednesday, November 12, ReMA worked with AMG to host the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) for security and law enforcement for an educational visit at AMG’s facility in West Virginia. ReMA and members discussed the industry’s actions to prevent metals thefts and efforts to engage with law enforcement.
That same day, ReMA hosted Recycling Jobs Day tours in New Orleans, taking groups of Nunez Community College students to EMR and Colt Scrap Tire to both tour and have in-depth conversations with their teams about what jobs are available at recycling facilities and what a recycling career can look like.
Students shared very positive feedback of their day. One process technology student attendee noted, “I learned today that plants have more to them than just work. They serve a purpose for our community and in the recycling industry especially, it’s truly a moving thing. I’d love to put myself into the recycling career because it means something to work in this field, not just for myself but for everyone around me as well.”
On Thursday, November 13, the mayor of Lancaster, Ohio Don McDaniel toured ReMA member Cirba Solutions along with Danielle Spalding Cirba’s Senior Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, ReMA Chair-Elect Andy Golding, and ReMA President Robin Wiener. The visit highlighted how battery recycling strengthens domestic manufacturing, supports critical mineral recovery, and fuels local economic growth.
The next day, Golding and Wiener toured Rumpke’s new state-of-the-art MRF in Columbus, Ohio. Rumpke opened its MRF in June 2024, following a $100 million investment that showcases the latest technological advancements in materials separation for the residential stream utilizing a combination of ballistic separators, 19 optical scanners, and artificial intelligence technology.
On Saturday, November 15, ReMA member Liberty Tire Recycling donated 22 pallets of nugget rubber mulch, 32 rubber timbers, and seven playground mats to a local playground building project with Bridgestone, Kaboom!, and the Nashville Predators to build a new playground for an economically distressed community in Nashville. The goal of the project is to create a safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable play environment.
On Monday, November 17, Pull-A-Part hosted Georgia House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration and Chairman of the Georgia House Committee on Urban Affairs, Representative Brian Prince, at their Atlanta North facility in Norcross, Georgia, to help celebrate America Recycles Day. The visit to Pull-A-Part focused on the highly significant role automotive and metal recyclers play in both environmental stewardship and healthy supply chains. The tour at Pull-A-Part was followed by a tour at SA Recycling, where legislators saw the next step in turning a car back into a commodity.
According to Pull-A-Part’s website, the “Grave to Cradle” tour illustrates how the roughly 17 million end-of-life vehicles that come off the road every year are depolluted and made safe for our environment, and then dismantled, crushed, shredded, and returned to feedstock that is used to make more cars, bridges, and hundreds of thousands of other products made from recycled material.
In addition to the local site visits and community engagement activities, the nation’s policymakers acknowledged that recycling is essential with bipartisan legislation designating November 15 as America Recycles Day, introduced by Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI).
In a press release issued by Representative Stevens announcing the resolution, ReMA President Robin Wiener stated “We are thrilled to see Representative Stevens champion this resolution in the House, which spotlights the profound value of the recycled materials industry to America’s economic and environmental future. The resolution recognizes that the men and women of the recycled materials industry are essential to the domestic manufacturing supply chain and that robust investment in our infrastructure is key to capturing more material and strengthening American manufacturing. ReMA and our members stand ready to work with Congress and the Recycling Caucus to turn the commitments outlined in this resolution into meaningful policy and investment.”