America Recycles Day, a program of Keep America Beautiful, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States. Every year on or around November 15, event organizers educate neighbors, friends, and colleagues about the importance of recycling through thousands of events.
Keep Durham Beautiful is participating in America Recycles Day with three separate events throughout October and November, one for each of the three Rs (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle).
Reuse!
On Saturday, October 21st from 8am to 2pm we’re inviting the community to join us at the Durham County Stadium for our second ReUse Rodeo, which provides residents the opportunity to drop off gently used items to be repurposed back into the community. Donating items rather than throwing them away not only helps to divert waste from the landfill, it helps support your local community!
Accepted items include books, clothing, furniture, working electronics, household appliances, cookware, tools, craft supplies, miscellaneous household items, toys, wood, non-perishable food and more. A complete list of accepted items can be found on the ReUse Rodeo event page. All items donated on-site will be given to participating non-profits, which include TROSA, First Pages, The Scrap Exchange, Recyclique, Durham Rescue Mission and Holt Elementary PTA. Donation receipts will be available for tax purposes.
Keep Durham Beautiful has partnered with the City of Durham Solid Waste Management Department, and the Durham County Division of Solid Waste Management to provide free electronics recycling and paper shredding at the event. Plastic film and bags, which cannot go into curbside recycling containers, may also be recycled at the event.
Reduce!
On Friday, November 3rd, Keep Durham Beautiful has organized a Waste Audit within the Durham General Services Department where we are housed. A waste audit is an analysis of your facility's waste stream. It can identify what types of recyclable materials and waste your facility generates and how much of each category is recovered for recycling or discarded.
As part of the Bull City Workplace Challenge, the “Green Team” of the General Services Department, which includes KDB staff members, has been working to make changes to the amount of waste our facility sends to the landfill. As of this year, our facility not only provides bins for separating recyclables, but compostables as well! Having an audit will help us to further reduce the amount of waste being improperly disposed of in our facility. Stay tuned for the results!
Recycle!
On Friday, November 17th we’ve organized a tour of the Sonoco Recycling Facility on Industry Lane in Durham. We will be inviting members of the public to take the tour with us, so stay tuned to our website and Facebook as these spaces fill up quickly.
Interested in organizing your own America Recycles Day event? It’s easy! Keep American Beautiful has this handy toolkit to help you plan a successful event for your school, office, or neighborhood. When we all pitch in a little, we can make a big difference. Happy Recycling!