Tuesday, November 15^th marks the 14^th annual America Recycles Day, a nationwide initiative dedicated to increasing awareness and showcasing the accomplishments of recycling. Each year, millions of people are encouraged to “Go Green” by reducing waste, increasing recycling, and purchasing recycled products.

“Recycling at home, work and school benefits all of us by reducing pollution, preserving valuable natural resources, conserving landfill space and saving money,” stated Jamie Tuttle, School Recycling Coordinator for the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority.

This year has been an important one for Oneida and Herkimer Counties since the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority announced its new single stream recycling program, RecycleOne – One and Done. “Recycling has become easier than ever for our region through this program as recyclables can now be mixed together in your recycling container for collection,” said Tuttle. “We have also added the opportunity to recycle Plastic # 7, which was previously not available. In our first four months of the new program, recyclables marketed have increased by over 8%. Our community should be proud.”

In our region, many residents, communities, businesses and schools are doing their part to “Go Green.” At Staley Upper Elementary School in Rome, the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year also meant the beginning of a whole new recycling program. Through a partnership between Staley Upper Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Group, the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority and the City of Rome, the program kicked-off with great success. Classroom recycling expanded beyond paper, plastic, metal and glass and Staley now collects hard-to-recycle items such as markers, glue sticks and drink pouches. TerraCycle, a company that creates recycling systems for these hard-to-recycle items, pays the school for each item they send in. In honor of America Recycles Day, Staley will begin the next phase of their program, which is milk carton recycling. Staley Upper Elementary School’s program will become the model program for each school building in the Rome City School District next year.

Through a cooperative effort between the City of Rome and the Authority, a 4-month challenge will be initiated for Rome businesses and residents with a goal to increase the City’s recycling rate from 18% to 35%.  The City will work with schools, merchants, and community organizations to provide public service messages and incentives highlighting the environmental and financial benefits of recycling for the community.

To further promote school and community recycling, the Authority has partnered with Nike Reuse-A-Shoe to provide schools in our region the opportunity to recycle sneakers in celebration of America Recycles Day. From mid-October through the month of November, sixteen schools in our region are collecting old, worn out sneakers for recycling, rather than tossing them in the trash. These sneakers will then be shipped to Nike, and recycled into material for playgrounds, running tracks, football fields, and more. This initiative not only increases environmental awareness, but allows schools in our region to work together for the same cause—promoting environmental stewardship, diverting waste from our landfill and conserving natural resources and energy.

In recognition of America Recycles Day, the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority would like to encourage everyone to take an active role in protecting our region and in making a commitment to increase recycling and reduction of our waste stream. For more information on ways to “Go Green” or other recycling information, please visit www.ohswa.org.