Metalico Inc. (MEA)

[polkamatic]

Cleantech Report: Recycling Industry Offers Recession Proof Investing
NEW YORK, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Between record high oil prices, the volatile stock market and a recession, it's a tough time to be an investor. But there's a little known bright spot on the market that actually benefits from high oil prices -- the Recycling Industry.

In fact, the Recycling Industry offers investors one of the few ways to profit during the current recession, according to a report released by Progressive Investor, 'Investing in Recycling.'

'Ever escalating energy prices, commodity price inflation and scarcity, and global environmental concerns have coalesced into a 'perfect storm' for the industry,' says Eric Prouty, Senior Energy Analyst, Cannacord Adams.

Many people aren't aware of the central role the recycling industry plays these days. It has become a backbone of our economy, pulling in $236 billion in revenues last year and employing over a million people. The industry accounted for about 2% the U.S. gross domestic product in 2007.

At the current rate of resource depletion, especially from emerging economies like China, the world literally can no longer satisfy demand for paper and steel from virgin materials alone. Recycling has become an absolute necessity for industrial growth and stability. We couldn't print a newspaper, build a car, or ship a product in a cardboard box without recycled materials.

'Although we usually think of the benefits of recycling as reducing waste and protecting forests and habitats from mining and clearcutting,' says Rona Fried, editor of Progressive Investor, 'it is also a key solution for climate change. Making new materials from old ones is a classic example of energy efficiency -- it vastly reduces the amount of energy (and resulting emissions) required to support our economy.'

For example, making aluminum from scrap uses 96% less energy than from virgin minerals, while making iron and steel from scrap requires 74% less energy. Two thirds of the steel produced in U.S. is now made from recycled materials.

Progressive Investor identifies the following trends benefiting the Recycling Industry:

-- The higher energy costs go, the more economically valuable are recycled
materials. Example: energy accounts for 20-30% of the cost to make
metals such as aluminum and zinc.
-- Metal prices are rising sharply from strong demand - partly from growth
in India and China -- creating strong economic incentives to recycle
all kinds of metals
-- Recycling benefits from the attention to climate change for its ability
to reduce the energy intensity of manufacturing and methane generated
by landfill waste.
-- Growing recognition that natural resources are scarce, finite, and
increasingly expensive to mine. Example: virgin copper and zinc
supplies could be completely exhausted within decades.
-- Rising concerns about pollution from discarded electronics


The report profiles the World's Top Recycling Stocks, including:
-- Casella Waste Systems (Nasdaq: CWST): regional solid waste company;
strong focus on recycling.
-- Metalico (Amex: MEA): small cap metals recycler.
-- Schnitzer Steel (Nasdaq: SCHN): vertically integrated scrap metal
recycler and steel manufacturer.
-- LKQ Corp (Nasdaq: LKQX): dominates the U.S. automotive replacement
parts market.
-- Interface (Nasdaq: IFSIA): leading carpet tile manufacturer uses a high
percentage of recycled material.
-- Sims Group (SGM.AX; NYSE: SMS): the world's largest metals and
electronics recycler