US president Donald Trump's plans to dismantle federal environmental justice programs that added protections for disadvantaged communities could reduce oversight on the scrap metal recycling industry that is often located in such neighborhoods.
Trump issued an executive order on 20 January directing government agencies to terminate all environmental justice offices and positions, as well as equity-related actions, programs, contracts, and grants within the next 60 days to the maximum extent allowed by law.
Environmental justice regulations have affected scrap metal recyclers located within or near poor communities and minority neighborhoods, particularly when applying for updated permits related to operating, expanding or building new facilities.
Scrap metal recyclers are assessing the new order and its potential implications to determine their next steps, the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) said this week.
"Recyclers are committed to being good neighbors in their communities by operating environmentally responsible and safe recycling facilities and engaging in our communities," Cheryl Coleman, senior vice president of advocacy, safety, and sustainability for ReMA told Argus.
The environmental justice directive was included in a broader executive order aimed at terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government and could have wide-ranging impacts on the recycling industry.
The order, which seeks to reverse key environmental justice efforts made by former presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, requires federal agencies to provide a list of all environmental justice positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and expenditures in existence before the election and assess whether any have been misleadingly labeled to preserve their function.
Major recycling companies have taken a proactive approach to environmental justice in recent years, allocating dedicated resources toward building relationships with the surrounding community, amid a few high profile instances at the city and state level.
Most notably, Reserve Management Group has been engaged in a multi-year legal battle with the City of Chicago over the denial of an operating permit for a new shredder because of environmental justice measures.
But it is still too early to know what impacts the executive order will have on recycling, industry participants said.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is likely to see the most significant effects from the order because of its role in establishing and implementing policies and regulations across the federal government.
Following an executive order by Biden, the EPA created an Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights in 2022, which allocated more than 200 EPA staff across 10 regions to manage the distribution of $3bn in climate and environmental justice grants created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Biden's policies and executive orders transformed the agency and reshaped its core mission. During his presidency, the EPA adopted a multi-year strategic plan which placed related environmental justice issues as the agency's second goal behind tackling the climate crisis and added "justice and equity" as a fourth essential principle to its mission statement.
The EPA is actively working to implement Trumps' new order.
"President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people to do just this," Molly Vaseliou, associate administrator for the EPA, told Argus.
