Pledge Your Action to Celebrate America Recycles Day!

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Annually, since 1997, communities across the country have come together on November 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day. More than a celebration, America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the United States. One day to educate and motivate.

"Keep California Beautiful (KCB) and its partners are supporting events throughout California to provide various recycling opportunities and information through educational fairs on the benefits of environmental stewardship as related to resource management," says Christine Flowers, Executive Director of Keep California Beautiful. "We are focused on broad interpretations of reduce, reuse, recycle and re-buy this November 15."

There are over 90 events throughout California already registered on the official America Recycles Day website ranging from E-Waste collection, secure document shredding, compact fluorescent and battery recycling events, film screenings, educational fairs and radio or television broadcasts.  

You don't have to attend a special event to have your own individual impact. You can demonstrate that you want to "Keep California Beautiful" and take the America Recycles Day online pledge to:

• Learn about recycling in your community by finding out what materials are collected for recycling.
• Recycle one new type of material within the next month and reduce personal waste by recycling.

In celebration of America Recycles Day and to encourage youth and families to get involved, KCB and its partners conduct two youth competitions annually encouraging beverage container recycling.  The first, Recycle. Goal., just concluded and it rewards soccer players for recycling and educates them about the value of doing so.  The second program, the statewide Recycle Rex Recycle Challenge, just kicked off last week and it encourages students to collect plastic and aluminum California Redemption Value (CRV) beverage containers from home, neighbors and throughout the community.

"Recycling is the easiest thing we all can do 365 days a year to save energy, conserve natural resources and create green jobs," says Tim Shestek, KCB Board Member and Senior Director of State Affairs, American Chemistry Council, a trade association that includes America's plastics makers.  "Taking advantage of recycling programs – whether at home or on the go - can help reduce litter and the amount of material we dispose of in landfills."

To close the loop on recycling and promote resource conservation with consumers, the Keep California Beautiful message for the holiday season, that begins with America Recycles Day, is to "buy green."  Now more than ever, there are hundreds of "green" gift options available for purchase online and at local retail stores.  

Keep California Beautiful, assembled a list of more than 25 green gift ideas that are either made from recycled materials, reuse existing materials or reduce waste overall.  The list of products includes gifts for him and her, as well as items for young adults and green versions of traditional gifts like tea sets and toy trucks for small children.  For the green gift list visit:  http://www.keepcabeautiful.org/pdfs/25GreenGiftsIdeas.pdf

"Every gift we buy will have an environmental impact, but consumers can help mitigate the impact, by choosing gifts made from green materials, such as products made from repurposed and recycled materials," says Flowers.  "Making small changes in the types of gifts you buy and how you wrap them reduces landfill waste and supports recycling and green manufacturing initiatives."

About Keep California Beautiful

Keep California Beautiful, Inc., is an environmental education non-profit 501c (3) , whose mission is to work together to ignite individuals, state and local governments, communities, and corporate responsibility through strategic initiatives and volunteer action to preserve and protect California's beautiful natural resources for generations to come. KCB forms public/private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit www.keepcabeautiful.org

SOURCE Keep California Beautiful