America Recycles Day: Will You Take the Pledge?
Take Action to Reduce Plastic Pollution
What’s old will soon be new again thanks to initiatives like America Recycles Day which will be commemorated on November 15.
ARD encourages Americans to recycle and buy recycled products. Thousands of events across the U.S. will raise awareness about the importance of recycling and encourage Americans to sign personal pledges to recycle and buy products made from recycled materials.
According to the AmericaRecyclesDay.org website, more than 2,600 events have been registered. Check here for one near you.
Strides have been made to curb the amount of trash that would be buried, burned or blown into our oceans and other waterways. For instance, the national recycling rate has increased over the past 30 years and currently sits at 34 percent.
Should you choose to attend or organize a local event, it’s important that attendees sign this pledge:
For America Recycles Day 2018, I pledge to:
Learn: I will find out what materials are collected for recycling in my community.
Act: Within the next month, I will reduce the amount of waste I produce, I will recycle more, and I will buy products made with recycled content.
Share: In the next month, I will encourage one family member or one friend to take the #BeRecycled pledge.
The pledge can be found here.
Meanwhile, Recycle.com compiled The History of America Recycles Day for last year’s celebration, which was the 20th. Here is an abridged – or maybe recycled is a better word – version:
“ARD roots go back to the state of Texas. Yes, we owe the great Republic of Texas for the seeds of a national celebration for recycling. The first national run of America Recycles Day was set for November 15th, 1997.
“On October 1st, 1997, the NRC and US EPA co-sponsored a national press conference at the White House Conference Center, featuring Vice President Al Gore as honorary chair for the event. The theme was ‘Buy Recycled’ and the press conference featured a model store filled with recycled-content products. A raffle was offered to those who signed recycling pledge cards, with the winner receiving a free ‘American Green Dream House’ – a home built with recycled-content and energy-efficient products. At least 40 states participated in the first America Recycles Day with various activities including recycling fairs, compost demonstrations, art from trash, games, and prizes.
“Over the following years, the NRC hired staff to operate America Recycles Day, and advertised the event through buttons, posters and the promotion of local events. By time the 10th anniversary of ARD rolled around in 2007, more than 3,000 local events in all 50 states were posted on the NRC website.
“The 2017 America Recycles Day campaign success can be measured in the following statistics: 73,800 people pledged to recycle, and 1,500,000 people attended ARD events across the country.
“Yet one statistic still haunts the recycling community: the national recycling rate is 34% and has been stuck at that level for several years. As we try to raise the nation’s consciousness on recycling, we need to raise the recycling rate through higher citizen participation rates. Recently, I voted as a civic responsibility, and I recycle as an environmental responsibility to reduce my carbon footprint. Are you a recycler?”
Please take part in an activity on America Recycles Day – even if it is simply a concerted effort to properly dispose of household items that can be recycled. Until we effectively slash our manufacture and consumption of plastic, paper and glass products, we need to find environmentally friendly ways to reuse the ones products we take home.