America Recycles Day
America Recycles Day is a nationally recognized day that celebrates and promotes recycling in the U.S. and falls on November 15th. On this day, people are encouraged to spread the word about the benefits of recycling and to practice recycling themselves. So be sure to find a recycling program near you so that you can recycle that trash instead of dumping it in the trash to fill up yet another landfill.
History of America Recycles Day
This holiday was created by the National Recycling Coalition in 1997. Every year since then, the President of the United States usually issues a Presidential Proclamation recognizing this day and encourages his fellow Americans to commit to the act of recycling.
In 2009, this holiday became an integral part of the Keep America Beautiful Campaign. Today, there are thousands of events across the entire U.S. to not only raise awareness about recycling but also to encourage people to recycle.
Interesting Recycling Facts
- 60% of trash could be recycled.
- Aluminum cans can be recycled endlessly.
- Aluminum cans can go from recycling back to store shelves in 2 months.
- Recycling one can save enough energy to run a TV for almost 3 hours.
- 80 billion aluminum cans are used each year around the world.
- If everyone recycled their newspapers, over 200 million trees could be saved each year.
- 500,000 trees are cut down just to produce Sunday newspapers each week.
- Each American uses almost 700 pounds of paper each year – most of which is just thrown away.
- Americans throw away over 25 trillion Styrofoam cups a year.
- 5 million plastic bottles are used in America every hour – most are tossed in the trash.
- Plastic bags in the oceans kill a million sea creatures a year.
- Every year, a billion trees worth of paper is thrown away.
- Enough wood and paper are thrown away each year to heat 50 million homes for two decades.
- Recycling one ton of plastic can save almost 2,000 gallons of gasoline.
Observing America Recycles Day
The simplest way to observe this holiday is by looking at what you throw away and making a commitment to recycle more. You can also encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. On social media, the hashtag #AmericaRecyclesDay can be used.
Conclusion
Recycling not only saves space in landfills, reuses important resources, and saves energy, but it also prevents the needless destruction of many aquatic animal species and helps in the fight against global warming. So spend this day figuring out how you can recycle more. Let’s make America beautiful!
