AMERICA RECYCLES DAY
Each year on November 15, millions of people across the United States take part in America Recycles Day. The day raises awareness about recycling and the purchasing of recycled products.
How we recycle and reuse products are important. For example, one-use water bottles flood America’s waterways and landfills at a rate of 60 million per day. Reducing this number can be achieved with water filtration devices and using portable re-usable drinking bottles and cups.
Reduce waste by repurposing and reusing old items. One of the bests ways to do this is by shopping at secondhand stores. Not only does it prevent items from ending up in the landfill, but it also saves you money. The old adage, “one person’s junk is another person’s treasure,” holds true. These stores offer more than you might imagine, from clothing and furnishings to kitchen items and replacement parts. If you’ve never shopped this way, consider it.
One area where we excel at recycling is aluminum. In fact, the U.S. recycles about 65% of its aluminum. That’s more than any other recycled item.
- In America, 105,800 cans are recycled every minute.
- Your television can run for 3 hours from the energy saved by recycling one can.
- In 2019, an aluminum can was worth about 1.7 cents.
- The industry pays more than $1 billion annually for recycled cans.
Your waste management professions are a wealth of information regarding recycling. They’ll give you the hard facts and steer you in the right direction, too. The role of waste management goes far beyond garbage collection. In each community, they provide various services and programs designed to protect and reduce the impact we have on our environment.
HOW TO OBSERVE #AmericaRecyclesDay
Recycle, buy recycled goods and help teach others the benefits of recycling and continue to do so each day! Use #AmericaRecyclesDay to post on social media.
AMERICA RECYCLES DAY HISTORY
The National Recycling Coalition created America Recycles Day was started in 1997. Each year, the President declares the day, encouraging Americans to commit to recycling. Since 2009, this day has been a program of Keep America Beautiful. Organizations host thousands of events across the United States to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and offer personal pledges that you can sign, committing to recycling and buying products made from recycled materials.
Recycle FAQ
Q. Are there different types of recycling?
A. Yes. There are three main types of recycling. The first, and probably one you are most familiar with, is called primary recycling. Primary recycling is the process of recycling materials into more of the same items – glass bottles into glass bottles, plastic bottles into plastic bottles, paper into paper, cardboard boxes into cardboard boxes. The next type is secondary recycling. Similar to primary recycling in that secondary recycling uses the same materials. However, the process creates something new. Plastic bottles become plastic furniture; rubber tires become playground turf. Finally, tertiary recycling chemically transforms a product into a new, usable product.
Q. What are some things I can recycle?
A. A shortlist of items you can begin recycling includes:
- paper
- plastic
- steel cans
- aluminum cans
- rubber
- cardboard
- food waste
- glass