Ever wonder what to do with that empty paper cup after finishing your morning coffee? Pile of Scrap host John Sacco travels to St. Louis, Missouri to ask paper recycling master, Leonard Zeid, just that. As Executive Vice President of Midland Davis Corp. and President of Paper Stock Industries (PSI), a national chapter of ISRI, there’s no doubt he knows the business. Everything from determining what to put in your blue bin, the increase in corporate environmental sustainability, and the unnecessary “go paperless” phenomenon, Zeid answers it all.

Servicing throughout the Oregon and Washington regions since 2013, PNW Metal Recycling (PNW) is a conjoined family-owned business with years of experience in the industry. Whilst maintaining their reputation for the utmost level integrity, this company works every day to stay efficient in their region and becoming the lowest cost producer of the commodities they produce. In this episode, John Sacco travels to Portland, Oregon to speak with owners Fouad Daoud, his son Sean Daoud, and Hank Doane about PNW’s story, the burden of operating a facility in an environmentally conscious state such as Oregon, and their involvement with ISRI.

Toledo, Ohio-based Kripke Enterprises Inc. (KEI) has become one of the most notable non-ferrous scrap brokerage firms to serve North America. Having been known as the “go-to guy for aluminum,” President of KEI Matt Kripke joins Pile of Scrap host John Sacco to explain the rapid growth of the aluminum industry that has been overall prominent in autos and electric vehicles with examples as pronounced as Tesla and the Ford F-150. Announcing his appreciation, Kripke describes how economically viable and environmentally responsible ISRI has been in educating for the prevention of that aluminum going into landfills in the future.

When it comes to getting down to the hard questions of understanding the impacts of the economy and the future it holds, Jason Schenker breaks it down for us. John Sacco invites Mr. Schenker, President of Prestige Economics and one of the most accurate financial forecasters and futurists in the world, on the show to talk on how the recycling industry and the U.S. economy has been impacted by tariffs as well as the net effect of the economy in terms of taxes on both the state and national levels.

With SA Recycling being one of the largest and most successful privately-owned scrap recycling companies in the United States, SA President and CEO George Adams knows the ins and outs of what makes this industry tick. In Part 2 of “Scrap Legends: SA Recycling” George sits down with John Sacco to discuss the difficulties in finding laborers, the effects the trade wars with China have had on the scrap business, and what it was like being an officer for ISRI.

As one of the largest and most successful privately-owned scrap recycling companies in the United States, it has taken years of patience, perseverance, and hard work for SA Recycling to officially claim its name to fame. George Adams, SA President and CEO, sits down with Pile of Scrap host John Sacco to talk further about his time in law school, the attempt to accommodate California’s strict regulation laws, and the details behind SA’s past bankruptcy that turned out to benefit the company in the long run.

Throughout generations of his family being involved in the industry, current ISRI Chairman Brian Shine, knew scrap was in his blood from the very beginning. From incorporating the values that he had learned from his family business in addition to the experience he’d acquired through his involvement in the industry, he leads the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) to its continued success. Brian joins John Sacco to discuss the strategy behind the magic that is ISRI and how important the organization has been for the entire scrap recycling community as a whole.

From following closely in his father’s footsteps, Matthew Goldman, CEO of Pasco Iron and Metal based in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, is unsurpassed when it comes to knowing the do’s and don’ts of the scrap business. By juggling all the responsibilities of building his company from the ground up, he is a true one man show. John Sacco joins Matthew and his father, Mark Goldman, in discussing Matthew taking the reins from his father and how exactly that plays into the success of his company and Florida’s growing scrap industry.

From fashion to recycling, Edward Kangeter, CEO of CASS, Inc. based in Oakland, CA dives into the “ugliness” of the scrap industry and swaps memorable stories with John. As recyclers, they explain how one can clean up their operations, and help the world understand the importance of a scrap yard. Although, Ed forbids to use the word scrap. Ed also describes his aluminum scrap operation. Processing, melting, and selling old recycled aluminum to clients who create everything from ice cream scoops, to skateboard trucks.

How do we resolve the plastic pollution? Jason Young, CEO of the Allan Company based in Southern California, discusses a possible solution with John Sacco. However, the solution involves more than just putting “recyclables” in the blue bin. It requires packaging manufactures to think past the initial shelf life or their products. These issues lead to what we call the Blue Bin Myth: what can and cannot be recycled.