Let’s start with a few random facts about how much Americans throw away.*
- The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. In other words, five percent of the world's people generate 40 percent of the world's waste.
- We use more than 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans every year. (But because so many of them are recycled, aluminum cans account for less than one percent of the total U.S. waste stream, according to EPA estimates. And there is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.)
- The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50,000,000 homes for 20 years.
- Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
- An estimated 80,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using enough aluminum foil to cover over 50 acres of space -- almost 40 football fields.
Obviously, we have a long way to go to improve our consumption and recycling habits.
Recognizing America Recycles Day (ARD) (a program of Keep America Beautiful) on November 15 is a great place to start. Since 1997, public and private organizations have dedicated the day to encouraging Americans to recycle and buy recycled products.
Not only is ARD a great day to encourage people to start recycling, some local governments use the day to recognize individuals and businesses who are already doing a good job.
Hamilton County, Ohio (Christian Sigman, county manager), is holding an awards luncheon to honor citizens, families, schools, businesses, and community organizations for their recycling efforts. Each winner can invite four guests to the lunch, which is also attended by local government and elected officials, and members of the local recycling industry. Holly Christmann, Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District program manager, says it’s an inexpensive way to give people a well-deserved pat on the back.
Greenbelt, Maryland (Michael McLaughlin, city manager), holds a Recycle Right contest for the best residential recyclers. Residences are nominated by the recycling collectors themselves and the five winners -- one from each of the four city recycling routes and one from a contractual recycling route – are chosen by lottery. Winners are recognized at a city council meeting and win a new recycling bin decorated with stars, gifts from local businesses, and America Recycles Day t-shirts.
Resources
- America Recycles Day offers a host of resources on its website, including
You can also “like” America Recycles Day on Facebook.
- The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) Solid Waste Management District has good ideas for local government activities.
- Earth911.com has a list of four events that make recycling fun again (flash mob, anyone?).
* Facts from the National Recycling Coalition, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Earth911.org as compiled by A Recycling Revolution.