America Recycles Day celebrates 20th anniversary

Keep America Beautiful (KAB), Stamford, Connecticut, has announced America Recycles Day is celebrating its 20^th anniversary in November, and is encouraging people to make a pledge to recycle more often and correctly.

America Recycles Day takes place on and in the weeks leading into Nov. 15. The nonprofit says the day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States.

Using the social media hashtag #BeRecycled, Keep America Beautiful asks participants to take a pledge and to spread the word about recycling among their communities. Keep America Beautiful says it is encouraging people to take the #BeRecycled pledge and commit to learn more about recycling in their community; to consistently and correctly recycle; and to buy products made from recycled content. Available online and via paper pledges at events across the country, #BeRecycled Pledge participants are “encouraged to help spread the word by educating and encouraging friends, family and neighbors to recycle in their community, and to integrate the act of recycling and buying products and packaging featuring recycled content throughout their daily routines,” says Keep America Beautiful.

“America Recycles Day is a call-to-action to motivate individuals to actively pursue a #BeRecycled lifestyle 365 days a year,” says Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “America Recycles Day helps to shine a light on our ongoing efforts to educate and inspire people to reduce, reuse and recycle, and when they buy, to buy products made from sustainable and recycled materials.”

A number of America Recycles Day events are focusing on this year’s theme of #BeRecycled. They include:

Nov. 4, Keep California Beautiful and the Rabobank Arena, Theater & Convention Center in Bakersfield, California, will hold a collection drive, accepting electronic items, large/small household items, tires and used motor oil filters, among many other materials.
Nov. 11, Trashmagination will hold a Mini Maker Fair in McLean, Virginia, and demonstrate how to use trash to create new items. The fair will include projects that use plastic bags, plastic caps, plastic milk jugs, neck ties and t-shirts, among other items.
Richardson Independent School District (ISD) will mobilize its 55 schools to participate in America Recycles Day by encouraging students to take the #BeRecycled pledge online, and will post banners outside of schools for the younger students to sign and participate. Throughout the week, Richardson ISD will encourage schools to set up “No Thank You” tables where students can offer unwanted lunch items to others. Lastly, Richardson ISD is contributing to a used clothing drive being held by Keep Dallas Beautiful, as Hurricane Harvey wiped out the surplus of items at many local shelters.
Beginning on America Recycles Day, the city of Inner Grove Heights in Minnesota will collect and recycle old and unused holiday lights to help prevent them from entering the landfill. Over the past two years, the city has recycled about 120 pounds of holiday lights.

Keep America Beautiful says aside from the #BeRecycled pledge, people can be part of the recycling solution by being more mindful of how to properly recycle products in the home and elsewhere by participating or hosting their own America Recycles Day event. Event organizers can access resources to plan, promote and host an event on the America Recycles Day website where there are reference guides and toolkits for hosting events, activity ideas, downloadable posters and banners, media outreach tools, sample proclamations and more. Events can be scheduled at any time during the fall leading into the official America Recycles Day celebration on Nov. 15.

Sponsors of this year’s initiative include American Chemistry Council, H&M, Indorama Ventures, Keurig Green Mountain, Northrop Grumman and Waste Management. Additionally, Dropps, creator of eco-friendly detergent pods, will serve as a promotional partner for this year’s campaign and will donate 10 percent of sales for the entire year to Keep America Beautiful on every new wash plan subscription or new customer product purchase made on www.dropps.com using code KAB2017.

“Indorama Ventures is committed to supporting America Recycles Day because it offers an opportunity for the next generation of environmental stewards to learn about the importance of recycling and taking care of the environment,” says Russ Wilson, plant manager at Indorama Venture’s IVXP plant in Decatur, Alabama.