America Recycles Day 2016
This America Recycles Day, November 15, EPA highlights that effective sustainable recycling programs are initiated by the leadership of communities and businesses across America. The Agency encourages the public to work with their local leaders and businesses to develop innovative recycling opportunities that promote economic growth and minimize environmental impacts.
Currently about 34.6 percent of what Americans throw away is recycled, reducing 186 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually. EPA asks every American to be a part of the effort to increase sustainable materials management across the country.
On this page:
- Benefits of recycling
- What you can do to reduce waste
- Reycling saves resources and creates green jobs
- Bin there, do that
- Save energy by recycling
Benefits of Recycling
- Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators
- Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals
- Prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials
- Saves energy
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change
- Helps sustain the environment for future generations
- Helps create new well-paying jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States
What You Can Do To Reduce Waste
Find out what you can do to help make a difference in our environment every day. Whether you're at home, on the go, in the office, or at school, there are many opportunities to go green by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.
Recycling Saves Resources and Creates Green Jobs
To celebrate America Recycles Day, EPA released significant findings on the economic benefits of the recycling industry with an update to the national Recycling Economic Information (REI) Study. This study analyzes the numbers of jobs, wages and tax revenues attributed to recycling. The study found that in a single year, recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for:
- 757,000 jobs
- $36,6 billion in wages; and
- $6.7 billion in tax revenues.
This equates to 1.57 jobs for every 1,000 tons of materials recycled.
For more information, check out the full report, view the Agency's press release, or read Assisstant Adminstrator Mathy Stanislaus' blog.
Bin There, Do That
How often do you ask yourself what's safe to put in your in recycling bin? Next time you go to throw something away, get creative and think of ways to reduce waste in the first place! There are many small habit changes that can motivate you to reduce, reuse and recycle more. Learn some do's and don'ts and other helpful tips, as well as why The Bags Don't Get Binned.
Save Energy By Recycling
Recycling everyday objects, such as paper, bottles and magazines saves energy. The materials that you recycle are used to create the products you buy. This means less virgin material needs to be mined or harvested, processed, manufactured and transported - all of which consume energy. The iWARM tool is based on EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) for solid waste planners and organizations. iWARM can be used to calculate how much energy organizations can save and how much greenhouse gases they can avoid by recycling versus landfilling their waste.