Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting recycling and buying recycled products.
America Recycles Day is easy to celebrate because it takes no preparation. If you’re finished using a product and it is recyclable, then put it in the correct recycling bin — that’s all there is to it.
Not sure what to recycle on campus? Watch this short video to find out, or visit our webpage for on-campus information. Check out the Wasteline site for recycling information in and around Omaha.
It’s more important than ever to recycle right. Make sure you recycle items in the correct containers. This reduces contamination, which could send the entire load to the landfill, while ensuring that everything in the bin can be recycled.
Don’t be a “wish-cycler.” Wish-cycling is the common, but damaging process of intentionally placing questionable items into a recycling bin, in the hopes it will be recycled.
Those of us who care the most about recycling are some of the worst offenders. We desperately want to believe that the item can be recycled, but it actually creates more problems. Sorting machines get clogged or broken, which takes time and money to fix. It’s more time consuming for hand-sorters. It creates more waste, and this waste costs us an average of $250,000 a year.
Recycling is important and has a huge impact on our planet and our economy. In order to complete the loop and make sure your recycling effort has value, buy products made of recycled content. When you purchase a product, take a look at the label. If it contains the three-arrow triangle (often referred to as the recycle symbol), it is recyclable. If that triangle is inside in a circle, that product is made from recycled content. The package should tell you the percentage of that item that was made from recycled materials, and if the materials are “post-consumer content.”
“Post-consumer” means the material came from the end-user and that material, like cans, newspaper, or plastic bottles, would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. Pre-consumer/industrial content is still recycled material, but was produced during the production of another product, e.g. wood chips, sawdust, and glass or metal shavings.
Recycled content products divert materials from the landfill while protecting new or virgin resources, so make sure what you are buying has the highest percentage possible of recycled content.