Hundreds of events are being held across the country to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and to encourage Americans to sign personal pledges to recycle and buy recycled products.
– Kate Krebs, National Recycling Coalition
Prizes including an Alaskan cruise are being offered as part of the day's activities.
The tenth such national event run in America, last year saw more than 100,000 people signing personal pledges to recycle and buy recycled products.
The latest campaign is being run under the theme “It all comes back to you” – raising awareness of recycled materials coming back to consumers as recycled products, helping in the process to preserve resources, the environment and the economic well-being of the country.
Lending his support today with an official proclamation from the White House, President George W Bush said: “Good stewardship of the environment is a personal responsibility and an important public value, and on America Recycles Day, we highlight the many benefits of recycling.
“By taking steps to reduce waste and re-use materials, we can save precious natural resources, enhance the beauty of our communities, and add to the health and prosperity of our nation,” the President added.
Coalition
Run by the recycling sector organisation National Recycling Coalition, America Recycles Day 2006 is being sponsored nationally by global aluminium company Novelis, stationery firm Staples, waste firm Waste Management Recycle America, the American Beverage Association and the EPA.
It is also being supported by State and county authorities across the US.
Kate Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition, said: “We expect hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country to sign pledges, come to events and rally around the importance of recycling.
“Many people are already active recyclers and look for recycled products when they shop. But for recycling to really make a difference, we need to involve even more people. America Recycles Day is an opportunity for us to do just that. Recycling is a win-win situation, so we hope everybody will do his or her part,” Ms Krebs added.
Recycling
Although America may not enjoy much of a reputation for environmentalism on the global stage, in many US cities recycling levels are much higher than in the UK.
About 245 million tons of municipal solid waste was generated in the US during 2005 according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with 32% recycled or composted, 14% incinerated and 54% sent to landfill.
In Minneapolis, in the northern state of Minnesota, where city officials are using the day to urge more citizens to improve their recycling habits, local newspapers are talking about “concerns” that the city's 40% recycling rate has remained stagnant for the past 10 or 15 years.
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency told local newspaper the Star Tribune that $24m (12.6m) worth of the city's paper was sent to local landfills in 2005.
“There's a thriving economy in recycling and there's huge savings when using recycled instead of virgin material,” said Agency planner Mark Rust.
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