America Recycles Day (ARD), held each year on November 15, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products. Celebrating its 11th year, the popular annual event has grown to include millions of Americans pledging to increase their recycling habits at home and work and to buy products made with recycled materials.
It is extremely important that Americans find ways to reduce their heavy ecological footprint. Currently, the average American discards 4.6 pounds of garbage every day. This garbage goes mostly to landfills, where it's compacted and buried. Landfills are one of the primary sources of methane.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas believed to be 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Greenhouse Gas News reports that global methane emissions from landfills are estimated to be between 30 and 70 million tons each year. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that municipal solid waste landfills (after natural gas systems and livestock) are the second largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for nearly 23 % of emissions in 2006.
The Living Planet Report 2008 found that the USA and China have the largest national footprints, each in total have about 21% of global biocapacity, but US citizens each require an average of 9.4 hectares (or nearly 4.5 Planet Earths if the entire global population had the same US consumption patterns) while Chinese citizens use on average 2.1 hectares per person (equivalent to one Planet Earth).
With America Recycles Day, the National Recycling Coalition supports local communities and raises awareness by educating citizens about the benefits of recycling. These recycling awareness events are held at schools and communities, and in conjunction with local municipalities throughout the country.
Although learning to recycle is an important step to reducing the impact on local landfills and reducing use of resources, it is important that Americans also learn to consume less in the first place and remember the environmental equation of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Recycling does not mitigate overconsumption.
America Recycles Day: http://www.nrc-recycle.org/
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