America Recycles Day - Environmental Celebration

America Recycles Day – November 15th
November Environmental Celebration

America Recycles Day was created by the Keep America Beautiful organization in 1997. Each year on November 15th, millions of people participate by raising awareness of recycling, and by purchasing recycled products. Corporate America has done a pretty good job of recycling paper (66%) and aluminum (65%). However, plastic producers and retailers aren’t doing as well, recycling only 9% of plastic products. Part of the problem is that only plastic products with Plastic Recycling numbers 1 and 2 have a strong market for recycling. The other numbers rarely get recycled. Another problem is that recycling is difficult for some residents without curbside options. Recently, the Rock Island County Waste Management Agency eliminated their four drop-off recycling centers, which had successfully diverted nearly 1000 tons of material from the landfill. 
 
Some states recycle up to 75% of their waste, but Iowa and Illinois only recycle 44% and 37%, respectively. We can, and must do better. Materials that are not recycled are taking up landfill space, and are wasted potential resources. According to the EPA, recycling and reuse activities in the U.S. account for 681,000 jobs, $5.5 billion in tax revenues, and $37.8 billion in wages. Recycling also prevents pollution and saves energy. 

Take Action Steps

1. If you aren’t recycling, start now. It’s easy and reduces your trash. You might be able to use a smaller trash bin, which would reduce your monthly fee.
2. Keep recyclables clean and dry, and empty and flatten cardboard. Keep plastic bags and wraps out of the recycling bin. They get caught in the machinery that sorts the products.
3. Special products, such as lithium-ion batteries should not go into recycling bins. They require hazardous waste collection points. Regular alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries are usually collected at participating retailers, because they contain metals which can pose a threat to human health or the environment.
4. Another way to reduce waste is to reuse products, or reduce purchases in the first place. 
5. Ask your city/county public works department to add recycling containers in local parks, and check on recycling programs in your workplace. 
6. Support companies that offer recycling options for their products, such as Crayola, Calphalon Cookware, Nike, Canon, Amazon Kindle, MAC Cosmetics, Crocs, and Brita.
7. Recycle your food waste by composting instead of dumping it in the landfill.

Lori McCollum