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At its upcoming fall meeting, the board of directors for the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) will consider an amendment to ISRI’s scrap specifications that will reclassify “any paper which has the potential to be contaminated with bodily fluid” as a prohibitive, adding the words “and organic waste” to the end to better reflect how material recovery facilities (MRFs) characterize inbound paper products in the recycling stream.

The proposal originated in an effort by the recycling industry to emphasize with outside stakeholders that this material does not have a viable end market to be economically and environmentally sustainable.

This amended specification was previously approved by ISRI’s MRF Council, Plastics Division and Paper Division at the Summer Board & Committee Meetings. Per ISRI’s bylaws, the full ISRI board of directors will vote on it at the Fall Board & Committee Meetings Nov. 6-8, 2017, in Washington. The board may choose to adopt, amend or reject the recommendations of the divisions or table them pending further review. A similar motion to reclassify the specification for “clean, dry double-polycoat food packages” also will be considered at the meeting.

More information about the rules governing the procedures from the addition, amendment or withdrawal of ISRI’s scrap specifications, can be found in the “Scrap Specifications Circular." Comments, recommendations or can be submitted to ISRI’s Joe Pickard at jpickard@isri.org. Comments will be accepted for 30 days following the vote by the board.