#BeRecycled

Recycling is an easy thing anyone can do to help conserve natural resources. Residents can recycle common household product packaging, like plastic bottles and jugs, and bi-metal cans.

Take the pledge to live the #BeRecycled lifestyle this year at www.americarecyclesday.org.

During the month of November take the pledge to #BeRecycled and commit to living the “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” lifestyle in honor of America Recycles Day, a national initiative of Keep America Beautiful. Visit www.americarecyclesday.org to take the pledge and see what more than 60,000 individuals have pledged to recycle more of this year.

Through this initiative, Keep America Beautiful is helping communities spotlight recycling on a local level by educating students and community members on how and what to recycle. The organization provides an array of tools and resources to help improve recycling in America. This year’s event also includes a sweepstake.

The America Recycles Day #BeRecycled Sweepstakes can be accessed through the Keep America Beautiful Facebook page and does not require a Facebook login for entry – all that is required for entry is the participant’s name, email, and zip code. The sweepstake is now open for entry and will close at 11:59:59 PM EDT on Nov. 18. Winners will be contacted shortly thereafter.

The Grand Prize will include a $1,000 gift card to www.hayneedle.com, a leading online home furnishings and décor retailer, which offers a wide selection of Green Living products among the world’s largest outdoor living selection, including many items constructed from recycled content. The second prize offers a pair of Trex planter boxes made from 95 percent recycled content and third prize is a $250 www.hayneedle.com gift card.

By taking the #BeRecycled Pledge, individuals commit to learning about recycling in their community; to consistently and correctly recycle; to reduce personal waste, and to buy products made from recycled content. Participants are encouraged to help spread the word by educating and encouraging friends, family, and neighbors to recycle in their community and to integrate the act of recycling and buying recycled-content throughout their daily routines.

Aside from the #BeRecycled Sweepstakes and Pledge, people can be part of the recycling solution by being more mindful of how to properly recycle products, in the home and elsewhere by participating or hosting their own America Recycles Day event. Events can be scheduled at any time during the fall leading into the official America Recycles Day celebration. Sponsors of this year’s initiative include Amcor, American Chemistry Council, ISRI and Northrop Grumman.

“America Recycles Day is important because it reminds us that every day we can make a difference by doing our part to recycle the things we use and choosing products made from recycled material,” said Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council.

Recycling is the process of taking things we are done using and remanufacturing them into new things we can use again. This process allows us to conserve natural resources by using raw materials again and saves water and energy during the manufacturing process.

Recently the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority hosted an America Recycles Day Billboard Design contest. During the month of November, you’ll see two billboards in the area with a recycling message designed by a local middle schooler. The theme was “I want to be recycled!” and is based on the Keep America Beautiful campaign by the same name. Learn more about “I want to be” at www.iwanttoberecycled.org.

On Wednesday, November 16 students in 6th to 12th grade can stop by the Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library to participate in a Teen UpCycling class. Participants will be transforming t-shirts into reusable shopping bags and learning about recycling in the community. For more information, contact Amy Hartline at 706-876-1360.

Teachers may be interested in participating in the Georgia Recycling Coalition’s Read for Recycling program which takes place the week of November 14. Students from K to 12 are challenged to read a minimum of five waste reduction or recycling related books, record them in an entry form, and journal something interesting they learned from each book. Entries should be mailed in no later than November 28.

Six students will be randomly selected to win a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble, while the teacher with the most student participation will win a class set of recycling themed books for their classroom. Contest details and forms are available at www.georgiarecycles.org.

After taking the pledge to #BeRecycled visit www.DWSWA.org to learn about recycling options in Whitfield County and the City of Dalton. Choose the Recycling 101 page or the educational resources available to local schools.