The US Goes Green On America Recycles Day

The event is entirely volunteer based and non-profit. People can find events within their community or even register to host their own event on the America Recycles Day website.

There have been nearly 33,000 pledges to the environmental cause since 2011, and the number is growing. The pledge is very simple: it asks people to learn, by saying “I will find out what materials are collected for recycling in my community at americarecyclesday.org,” as well as act, by saying “Reduce my personal waste by recycling. Within the next month, I will recycle more.”

“Not everyone can take on the commitment required to organize and host an America Recycles Day event,” reads the Join an Event page on the ARD website. “Fortunately, you can still have a huge impact on our success in 2012 by simply showing up for an event that your community organizers have arranged.  Registration for America Recycles Day 2012 began in August and will run through November, so check back frequently for events in your area.”

Below this bold statement encouraging people to join the fight is a search box to enter in a zip code. Users will be directed to the closest events to their area.

For users who don’t have events close by, they can easily create an event for next year’s America Recycles Day. All participants need is to create an account, register with the website and order promotional material.

“Nothing can be more daunting to would-be recyclers than trying to figure out what can be recycled, when, where and how,” claims the ARD site. “Fortunately, with our friends at Earth911, figuring out when, where and how to recycle in your community couldn’t be easier.”

The site will assist people year round in finding the proper recycling facilities in their area. America Recycles Day serves merely as a reminder of the importance of recycling, and a means of making the effort temporarily easier.

The day is organized by Keep America Beautiful, which is America’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization, according to their official website. Their latest effort is the Recycling at Work Initiative, which coincides with America Recycles Day, but encourages businesses to take action rather than just individuals.

“The environmental impact from recycling remains critically important as a measure of sustainable economies and vibrant communities,” said KAB president and chief executive officer Matt McKenna according to Mother the Nature Network blog. “To increase our national municipal recycling rate from its current 34 percent level, the increase will come less from national initiatives and more from locally-driven efforts. Engaging individuals to take the action to recycle at home, at work and at play is the linchpin to increasing recycling rates.”