“To increase the purchase of recycled content products and recycling throughout America.” Goal - www.americarecyclesday.org
America Recycles Day (ARD) is a national event started in Texas in 1997 and became a nationwide observation in 2000. While November 15th has been designated as America Recycles Day, the intent of the program is to support an awareness campign to increase recycling and recycled-content purchasing each autumn. Annual pledges and events held throughout the fall season help promote waste recovery efforts in communities throughout America, along with the slogan "America Recycles Every Day."
TAKE THE PLEDGE! - Go to www.americarecyclesday.org
The America Recycles Pledge simply requires you to make a personal commitment to recycle. This can be done through pledging to buy more recycled content products; increasing recycling efforts at home, work, or school; or participate in an event or activity that encourages others to recycle. Pledges are entered online at www.americarecyclesday.org. The ARD Web site contains many recycling fun facts and interactive activities.
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The ARD Web site includes a conversion calculator to demonstration how recycling works, and how your efforts to recycle at home, school, and work add up to saving trees, energy, water, avoiding pollution, and helps reduce global warming.
SUGGESTED GROUP ACTIVITIES
The following are some ideas for how your group can participate in America Recycles Day:
- Set up a display highlighting recycled-content products at your school or local store.
- Contact local grocery stores about decorating paper bags with colorful environmental messages.
- Use the Michigan Recycling Coalition's America Recycles Day lesson plan in your classroom or youth group meeting. This curriculum meets many state core requirements. In addition, activities may be eligible for state and national recognition through the Michigan Recycling Coalition, www.michiganrecycles.org. Activities developed by MRC include: "Close the Loop Curriculum" (3-page PDF) and "Close the Loop Worksheet" (1-page PDF).
- Visit the Ann Arbor Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) recycling plant to see recycling in action.
Be creative and have fun!
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has released the 2009 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Characterization report. This report contains data on the generation and
disposal of waste in the United States, and helps measure the success of
waste reduction and recycling programs across the country.
The report shows that Americans recycled and composted 82 million tons
of the 243 million tons of total municipal solid waste produced last
year. Each person produced 4.34 pounds of trash per day, of which 1.46
pounds were recycled or composted.
For more information on the 2009 facts and figures of municipal solid
waste generation, recycling and disposal in the United States, please go
to http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm