A Recycling Message From Mike Baum

Mike Baum is the Executive Director of Keep Virginia Beautiful. On America Recycles Day, November 15th, he penned an editorial that was shared by news organizations around the Commonwealth.  We share it here in its entirety:

Everyone has had heard of recycling, right? The concept is so simple anyone can do it, and when you do, you are protecting our environment.

From paper to plastic and glass to electronics, practically everything that cannot be reused can be recycled. Even simpler is the fact that most cities provide you with a free recycling bin, so it should be a no-brainer to simply put those recyclables out for pickup.

But not everyone does. In fact, as of 2012, the Department of Environmental Quality states we Virginians only have a 41.5 percent recycling rate.

That’s less than half the state.Why is this?

At times, recycling can be confusing if one is not familiar with what’s acceptable to recycle. Who really knows what parts, if not all, of a computer are recyclable?

Although most cities and surrounding suburbs have a recycling program with multiple recycling centers, many rural areas do not. And although you may recycle in your home, does your place of work offer recycling?

Maybe the grocery store offers a plastics or aluminum can recycling bin, but what about a bin to recycle that newspaper you just finished reading?

Unfortunately, the state does not offer a cohesive recycling program and our behavior isn’t cohesive among our daily routines. And as we continue to let this one simple act of environmental protection progress at slow rate, we’re fully doing our part to do something good for our state. That’s why we’re here.

America Recycles Day, celebrated on Nov. 15 every year, is dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products.

The purpose of Keep America Beautiful’s America Recycles Day is to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and to encourage more people to join the movement to create a better environment.

Since the first America Recycles Day in 1997, ARD has helped millions of Americans become better informed about the importance of recycling and buying products made from recycled materials.

We at Keep Virginia Beautiful work to engage and educate citizens to enhance our natural and scenic environment. We do this by focusing on three environmental impact areas: litter prevention, recycling and beautification.

In 2013, we partnered with the 36 state parks in Virginia to provide 250 recycling carts to be used throughout the park system. This year, we provided them with recycling bags to be given to overnight guests for their recycling use. Even the bag is recyclable.

In 2011, we gave the city of Richmond 100 recycling carts and 25 cigarette receptacles to be used at festivals and events. That first year alone, the city saved 25,000 pounds of recyclables from the landfill. These are just a few of the recycling initiatives we’ve started to help support our state. But let’s be honest. We can’t do it alone.

Protecting our state’s environment won’t happen overnight or even years down the road. It’s a continuous and collaborative effort among environmental organizations and you. Please help us support our state’s environment by taking the first step to recycle.

Upcoming Keep Virginia Beautiful programs:

“30 Grants in 30 Days”: Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has awarded 120 grants to a variety of organizations throughout the commonwealth supporting community projects focused on litter prevention, recycling and community beautification.

Cigarette Litter Prevention Campaigns: Partnering with Altria, Virginia State Parks and many festivals, we are working to decrease cigarette litter .

Virginia Schools: Recycling Rules: We are bringing recycling bins to classrooms in Richmond City Public Schools and eventually school districts across the state. This will enable us to create best practices to make the program sustainable for all school districts in the commonwealth in need of a recycling program.

America Recycles Day: Keep Virginia Beautiful is involved in many recycling events for America Recycles Day around the commonwealth.

We continue to seek partners to focus on this program in 2015 to make a difference in communities around the state.