"America Recycles Day" 11/15/10

In less than a week, many will gather to encourage, educate, and enjoy a process that is well known here at the Nest: recycling. November 15th 2010 will mark the 13th anniversary of “America Recycles Day”, the one day that is set aside to reinforce a task that has grown to become an integral part of environmental conservation. What better way to kick off this yearly tradition, than to travel back into time and take a look at a few of the pioneers that paved the way for this practice?

Let’s start with 1801, the year which marks the first practice of using waste paper to create new paper. During this year, documents and papers throughout Japan were gathered and repulped for use in paper shops throughout the country. What a way to kick of the nineteenth century!

Let’s switch the gear to drive and speed fast a few years to 1916. Amidst the struggles of World War I, the government managed to create the “Waste Reclamation Service”, an organization built upon one timeless concept: “Don’t Waste Waste-Save It” . During this time, the public was encouraged to save old rags and wastepaper in order to deal with wartime shortages. This period also marks the creation of the first tin foil collection program in Los Angeles.

Final stop, 1970. Not only was this the year in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gathered it’s bearings, it also marked the implementation of the Resource Recovery Act, an effort to improve federal involvement in recycling and resource recovery.
A noteworthy year, indeed.

What will the future generations have to say about our efforts in 2010? What changes can you make as an individual or as a community in order to share the important of recycling and reusing? If you’ve already started to make changes in your own life, figure out how you can inspire someone else to do the same. Get together with friends, coworkers, and family members in order to determine what you can do to contribute. No ideas? Log on to website for America Recycles Day . America Recycles Day in order to discover the events that will be taking place in your corner of the country. Make 11.15.10 a noteworthy date for yourself and the environment.