Why America Recycles Day?

• Recycling and reuse activities account for 681,000 jobs, $37.8 billion in wages, and $5.5 billion in tax revenues in the United States. 

• Recycling prevents waste from piling up in landfills or being sent to the incinerators.

• Recycling allows us to reuse materials that we have already created. This cuts down on the environmental costs of plastic, aluminum, and paper production. 

• Reusing recycled goods reduces the amount of virgin resources that we need to extract from the environment, such as water, timber, and oil.

Reduce and Reuse before Recycle!

While America Recycles Day emphasizes the importance of recycling, at the Environmental Center we use ARD to encourage all sorts of sustainable habits, especially reducing consumption. There are many easy ways to reduce your waste on and off campus. Here’s some ideas:

• Bring your reusable water bottle!. Water bottle filling stations are scattered in buildings all across campus, making it easy to avoid purchasing plastic water bottles. 

• Bring your tupperware! Packing your own lunch in a tupperware avoids the extra packaging that often comes with takeout.

• Don’t forget your reusable bag! Grocery store plastic bags cannot be recycled, so it's especially important to bring your own tote! Leaving reusable bags in the car or on a hook by the door is a great way to never forget your tote. 

• Lug your mug! Coffee is an essential for many of us in the morning. While it may be easiest to grab a quick brew from starbucks, coffee cups are not recyclable and generate large amounts of waste.

• Be perfectly imperfect! We know it's hard to be perfectly sustainable, and truthfully no one is. But if everyone puts at least a little effort towards reducing their waste, a huge impact will be made.

ARD at CU - Choose to Reuse Event!

To celebrate this year’s America Recycles Day, the CU Environmental Center will be hosting an event on November 10 on Hellems Lawn. We will be educating CU students on proper recycling and other sustainable habits. We will also be handing out a "Reusable Kit" that include a mason jar, tupperware, reusable silverware, and reusable bags.  We will also have yerba mateand other goodies to promote reducing waste.  We invite you to join us in our festivities to celebrate ARD, but there are also plenty of ways to celebrate at home. 

• Use ARD to think about how you generate waste at home and how you can reduce that waste.

• Practice as many sustainable practices as you can for the day! Instead of getting takeout or buying a coffee, try making these things at home. 

• Research proper recycling practices and places where hard to recycle items can be taken. Check out this article on common contaminants in recycling found here and information on where to recycle here. 

• Work on incorporate your ARD habits into the rest of your life!

Other Resources and Links:

• Past article on America Recycles Day with more info!
• ARD event page