LANCASTER, Pa. — What may look like everyday waste, like crumpled paper, broken fiberglass or even excess corn starch, has become a powerful economic driver in Pennsylvania, supporting jobs, businesses and entire communities.
Companies like Armstrong World Industries are helping lead that charge. The Lancaster County-based manufacturer has long relied on recycled materials as a cornerstone of its business model, producing nearly all of its ceiling tiles at its Marietta plant using recycled content.
That approach has helped fuel the company’s $1.6 billion in annual revenue.
“We were almost founded as the company we are today based on recycled content,” said Amy Costello, product stewardship and sustainability manager at Armstrong. “It’s really almost synonymous with good business practice to utilize recycled materials and use raw materials in the most effective manner possible.”
Armstrong is just one example of a rapidly expanding recycling sector across the Commonwealth. According to a new report from the Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center, the industry generates a staggering $130.5 billion in economic impact statewide.
It also supports more than 320,000 jobs and delivers $27 billion in wages.
Recycled materials are now being used to create a wide range of products, from mulch and construction supplies to toys and even board games like Monopoly.
State leaders like Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Secretary Jessica Shirley say the process behind recycling not only supports the economy but also reduces reliance on finite natural resources.
“When it goes in the bin, then in the truck, it goes to a place like this to be made into another product,” Shirley said. “That means we’re not pulling those finite resources from extractive industries like natural gas to make a plastic bottle or glass jar.”
Shirley emphasized that environmental protection and economic growth are not at odds in Pennsylvania; they go hand in hand.
“I think everybody wants to protect the environment—the air we breathe and the water we drink,” she said. “But it has to be done in a balanced way so we can still live and have jobs. That’s what the department does—allowing economic activity while protecting the environment.”