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Earth Day - April 22

Did You Know?

According to earthday.org....

• More than 500 billion plastic bags—one million bags per minute—were produced worldwide last year.
• The fast fashion industry annually produces over 100 billion garments. Approximately 85% of these garments end up in landfills or incinerators, with only 1% being recycled.
• Last year in the United States, 100 billion plastic beverage containers were sold. That’s more than 300 bottles per person!
• Making a plastic water bottle requires six times as much water as the bottle itself contains.

Plastics waste extends beyond an environmental issue. As plastics break down into microplastics, they release toxic chemicals into our food and water sources and circulate through the air we breathe. Plastic production now has grown to more than 380 million tons per year. More plastic has been produced in the last ten years than in the entire 20th century, and the industry plans to grow explosively for the indefinite future.

EARTHDAY.ORG is working to change human attitudes about and behavior toward plastics and reducing plastic pollution. The End Plastic Pollution campaign helps people understand the impacts of plastic pollution on human and ecosystem health and how everyday actions can lessen the problem. The campaign draws attention to the harmful effects of plastic in our environment and empowers people to make a difference.  

To learn more about Planet vs. Plastics and join the movement for a plastic-free future, please visit: Earth Day 2024. To educate yourself on the impacts of plastic on human health, check out the Plastics Health Research Module and EARTHDAY.ORG’s Earth Hub for all fact sheets, toolkits, press releases, and articles. 

Test your knowledge of plastic waste. Take the earth day plastic quiz and let SWANCC know how

you did!

Test your knowledge of food waste. Take the earth day upcycled foods quiz and let SWANCC know how you did!

Test your knowledge of what's in your closet. Take the earth day sustainable fashion quiz and let SWANCC know how you did!

What Do Those Symbols Mean?

Everyone thinks they recognize the recycle symbol. Typically, it looks like three arrows chasing each other in the shape of a triangle, but what about all the other versions and symbols? Don't they mean recycle too?

In 1970, the original design of the recycle symbol was created by 23-year-old student, Gary Anderson. He was the winner of the Container Corporation of America’s (CCA) inaugural Earth Day competition. Little did anyone realize that it would become such a commonplace icon of the 21^st century!

However, the commonplace, unregulated printing of this symbol has become a problem. This is because when people see what they interpret to be a recycling symbol, they automatically think, “I can recycle this!” and toss the item into the recycling bin. The belief that these emblems mean an item is recyclable is a common misconception.

Just because a circular symbol with arrows is printed on an item,

doesn’t mean an item is recyclable in your current system!



It’s mind-blowing and maddening, isn’t it?!

If you look at the recycle symbol piece by piece, and ask yourself those questions, it makes more sense!

Now, what about those numbers? Aren’t those numbers supposed to tell us if we can put an item into our recycling cart?

The simple answer is NO! Generally, ignore them. There are more than 30 kinds of plastics, with more being developed every day, and our best Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) can usually identify and recover 5 of them. These numbers are called resin codes. They were designed by manufacturers to identify chemistry classifications of plastics, NOT for residents to determine if the item is eligible for the recycling cart.

Yes, this can all be frustrating and sometimes even make us want to give up. It’s important to remember that if you feel this way, you are making it too complex and overburdening yourself. Take a step back and remember to keep it simple. Review the curbside guidelines below, ask yourself the questions listed above, and stick to recycling those items only. Don’t get bogged down in the occasional item you have in hand that is not pictured. If you are uncertain if it’s appropriate material for the recycle bin, then don’t risk contamination by wishcycling. Put it in the trash and keep the value of the truly recyclable material high.

As the world comes to terms with the growing amounts of waste generated every day, understanding what can and can’t be recycled is increasingly important. Not only do we need to divert more waste away from landfills, but we also need to keep materials in the loop for as long as possible so that we can reduce our reliance on virgin materials and avoid the environmental impacts associated with extracting them. 

Would you like to suggest a question to be answered in the newsletter?

Please email Theresa@swancc.org.

Have you missed a commonly asked question from our previous newsletters? Use the links below to review them.

Batteries

Cardboard Boxes

Electric vs Electronic

Plastic Bags and Flexible Plastic

Scrap Metal

Shredded Paper

Wrapping Paper

Curbside Guidelines - Spanish



The theme was chosen by participating international partners incorporating the collective focus on one of the initiatives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which is “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.”

YOU can compost! What are the benefits of using compost and composting in your yard?

• The use of landfill space and incineration can be reduced by at least one-third when organics are recycled.
• Methane can be significantly reduced through the recycling of organics instead of their being landfilled.
• Soil health and productivity is dependent on organic matter.
• Compost’s return to the soil serves as a “carbon bank" and offers a significant answer to climate change mitigation. 

For more information and resources, please visit:

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW)

and

The Compost Research and Education Foundation

For more information and guidance for accepted material and to view the entire 2024 schedule, please visit SWANCC's electronics recycling and

document destruction webpages.



Other Special Materials

SWANCC Member Communities offer programs for various materials that are reusable, recyclable, or need to be disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner.

These include:

• fluorescent bulbs
• mercury containing devices
• sharps
• batteries

Please contact your community to confirm participation before dropping off items.