From Orange County Solid Waste Management
Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day – a day that highlights the importance and impact of recycling. According to the EPA, the recycling rate has increased from less than 7% in 1960 to the current rate of 32%, but we know there is still more work to be done to increase the recycling rate.
Why is there a day dedicated to celebrating recycling? Well, recycling has a lot of positive benefits; one study shows that recycling and reuse practices accounted for 681,000 jobs and $37.8 billion in wages.
Recycling can directly benefit YOUR Orange County community by:
- Reducing the amount of waste sent to the Sampson County landfill
- Reducing the emissions from trucks hauling waste to the landfill
- Preventing pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials
- Helping create more jobs in your area. If every household in the Carolinas recycled 2 more bottles a week, it would create an additional 300 jobs!
- Supporting local manufacturing and businesses
- Conserving natural resources like timber, water, and minerals
Small steps make a big difference. To learn more about how you can incorporate reducing, reusing, and recycling into your daily routine and take the #BeRecycled Pledge, visit https://kab.org/programs/ard/pledge/. Read more about Carrboro’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions at https://www.townofcarrboro.org/DocumentCenter/View/8961/Community-Climate-Action-Plan---Updated-Oct-2020.
Visit http://orangecountync.gov/2206/What-Goes-in-my-Blue-Recycle-Cart to see what you can and can’t recycle in Orange County.
For a more in-depth guide on how to discard, recycle, and donate items check out the A-Z Recycle Guide at http://orangecountync.gov/150/A-Z-Recycle-Guide.
