Australia’s Planet Ark founded National Recycling Week in November of 1996 in order to educate the community. Through a media campaign they brought a national awareness to the importance of recycling to help save waste and protect the environment.
According to Planet Ark, “National Recycling Week has dual purposes.
- The first is to raise awareness of how recycling helps to reduce our impact on the environment. Recycling reduces the amount of water, energy and new materials that we use to support our lifestyle. Making an aluminum can from recycled material, for example, uses 95% less energy than making one from raw material. Lowering energy use and therefore carbon emissions is one of many ways that recycling helps to tackle climate change.
- The second aim of National Recycling Week is to encourage individuals and businesses to recycle more and recycle better..
“National Recycling Week provides us all with an opportunity to improve our recycling habits, learn about what we can recycle and how to recycle properly, and find out about new recycling trends and programs.”
This is the 16th year celebrating National Recycling Week and has become well known around the world. Since 1997 America has celebrated with its own America Recycles Day on November 15th to encourage Americans to recycle and buy recycled products. These campaigns focus on teaching our communities around the world to change behaviors in order to encourage recycling and reusing in order to minimize waste and save our resources on planet Earth.
Many items can be recycled, reused, or repurposed and upcycled to be used to redecorate the abode.
- Do you have old clothes that you no longer wear but love the fabric? Cut them into large patches to create a quilt, chair cover, or rug.
- Cut sheets into strips to make a rag-rug.
- Planning on tiling a room or countertop? Consider using beautiful tile made out of recycled glass.
- Recycle broken pieces from glass bottles and ceramic dishes to make your own mosaic backsplash.
Source: examiner.com
By Carol Ruth Weber, Interior Decorating Examiner