12 Ways to Celebrate America Recycles Day

On America Recycles Day, which is backed by Keep America Beautiful, nonprofits, communities, companies and individuals come together to educate people about the importance of recycling and recycling right.

“Our fall recycling initiatives highlight the power that we all have to make more mindful decisions in our daily lives about recycling and using products made with recyclable materials,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Helen Lowman in a statement. “Keep America Beautiful has been working hard to improve recycling in America, and we’re eager to continue those efforts by motivating and activating individuals to make recycling a part of their daily lives.”

For the third year in a row, Keep America Beautiful is encouraging people to take the #BeRecycled pledge to recycle more and waste less. To date, more than 76,000 people have signed the pledge, committing to learning more about recycling, to consistently and correctly recycle and to buy products made from recycled content.

Keep America Beautiful is also hosting its fourth annual “State of Recycling” Forum on November 15, which provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges facing recycling in the United States, as well as addresses critical topics that impact and can be influenced by industry stakeholders, government and individuals.

“Through the 2018 ‘State of Recycling’ Forum, we’ll gain a better understanding of what motivates individuals to recycle and establish priorities for advancing education and awareness to improve recycling rates and reduce material contamination,” said Lowman in a statement. “Keep America Beautiful is pleased to host this important forum, examining the underlying consumer motivators to recycle, in partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper.”

This year, industry associations, including the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), are also addressing the issue of contamination and stressing the importance of cleaning up the recycling stream.

“It is important not only to recycle, but do it right,” said David Biderman, executive director and CEO of SWANA, in a statement. “Countless people recycle; however, many may not realize that they are not doing it correctly. America Recycles Day is the right moment to raise awareness of this problem and to improve our habits and the environment. SWANA will be participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s America Recycles Day Summit taking place in Washington D.C., where key stakeholders will discuss how to address current recycling challenges.”

“Recycling is more highly contaminated with non-recyclable garbage than ever before,” said Walter Willis, SWALCO executive director and co-chair of the NWRA – SWANA task force, in a statement. “The non-recyclable items weigh down sorting facilities, reduce commodity prices and affect the re-manufacturing markets.”

While the celebration kicks off today, November 15, various America Recycles Day-themed events take place in the coming days. In this gallery, we highlight 12 activities and events.