Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin (AROW) is excited to announce two great recycling campaigns that address our need to recycle right in Wisconsin. America Recycles Day (ARD), a program of Keep America Beautiful, is a nationwide one-day event on November 15th where municipalities, organizations, and individuals offer local events and activities that celebrate recycling history and promote its continued success.
This year, because Wisconsinites love a good celebration and one day is not enough, AROW’s Recycle More Wisconsin program will start celebrating on November 1st and we hope you will join us!
We’ve recently learned that people are often confused and/or a bit complacent about recycling. They no longer know, or no longer are paying attention to, what they should or should not be putting into their recycling bins. To address this, we started Recycle Right Wisconsin’s – Pledge to Recycle Right Campaign. Starting now, in honor of ARD, and running through Earth Day 2019 we are encouraging all Wisconsinites to commit to our 5 recycling guidelines. That’s it. Only 5! If everyone did these 5 simple things as their bare minimum we would see Wisconsin’s recycling be significantly better and cleaner.
5 Recycling Guidelines:
Rinse Your Recyclables (and empty them too!). Food residue and liquids in bottles can cause problems with the sorting equipment, as well as have impacts on other materials like paper and glass. A quick rise is all that is required.
Cut the Cups. Single use cups such as paper and foam cups are not recyclable in the vast majority of programs. This is also true for paper plates and Styrofoam to-go containers. These materials have very few markets so, as with all items, check to see if your recycling program is an exception.
Don’t Be Flexible. Flexible packaging, such as sandwich bags, frozen food bags, toothpaste tubes, food pouches, zip pouches, and others are typically not accepted in curbside or drop off programs. Many local stores collect plastic bags and wraps. For a list of stores in your area check www.plasticfilmrecycling.org.
Plastic Bottle Caps. Most communities want bottle caps screwed back on the empty bottle, while some communities need them placed in the garbage. Regardless, bottle caps should never be loose in your recycling cart or bin.
Know Before You Throw. Check with your local community to see what’s accepted in your recycling program. Just because an item has a recycling symbol on it does not mean your community accepts it in your curbside or drop off program.
To pledge today go to www.recyclerightwisconsin.org.
Each year Wisconsinites throw approximately $52 million worth of recyclables into the landfill. “We appreciate the efforts residents take to recycle more and recycle right.” said AROW President Meleesa Johnson. “Now more than ever before we need to pay attention to what we are recycling. America Recycles Day provides the opportunity to remind residents about not only the economic and environmental benefits of recycling including conservation of natural resources, tax relief and job growth, but also the importance of recycling right.”
To help spread our #RecycleRightWisconsin messaging we are launching a social media campaign via our Recycle More Wisconsin Facebook page along with municipalities around the state. Starting on November 1st you can help us by Liking and then Sharing our posts with your friends and family. The more people that know about how to Recycle Right the better our recycling efforts will be.
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About the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin (AROW)
Founded in 1990, AROW is a 501(c)(3) association representing Wisconsin’s recycling, waste reduction and sustainability professionals with members from local government, businesses and non-profit groups. The organization provides leadership through education, advocacy, and collaboration and promotes effective, efficient and sustainable material recovery initiatives. For details on AROW, its positions and programs visit www.arow-online.org.