Washington, U.S.A. — Online registration is now open for Keep America Beautiful’s America Recycles Day (ARD), the one day to educate and motivate people about the importance of recycling to our economy and for our environmental well-being.

Recognized annually on November 15, ARD celebrates the benefits of recycling while providing an educational platform that helps raise awareness about the value of reducing, reusing and recycling – every day – all throughout the year.

Online registration is now open at AmericaRecyclesDay.org for local organizers to schedule events in their communities and gain access to valuable resources to plan, promote and host an event. To support event organizers, there are best practices guides for hosting events from plastics bag and film recycling to tailgate recycling, activity ideas, posters (on recycled paper), banners (made from recycled plastic bottles), pencils (made from recycled newspaper), buttons (made from recycled steel), and much more.

Access to these collateral materials and other resources is available to any organization ranging from state and municipal governments to local “green teams” or scouting troops. Many collateral materials are offered “first-come, first served,” so early registrations are highly encouraged. Events can be scheduled any time during the month of November, but should be held as close to November 15 as possible.

Many more opportunities are becoming available and will be announced soon, so stay tuned. Be sure to bookmark AmericaRecyclesDay.org and “Like” their Facebook page (facebook.com/AmericaRecyclesDay) for the latest information.

America’s leading companies are proud to make America Recycles Day, a national initiative of nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, possible. National sponsors to date include: American Chemistry Council, Anheuser-Busch, Glad, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle Waters North America, Owens-Illinois, PepsiCo and Waste Management.

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Keep America Beautiful (KAB) reports an average 54 percent reduction of cigarette litter in the communities implementing KAB’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP) during 2011. In 2011, the program’s ninth year, there were 252 grant-supported implementations across the country including downtowns, roadways, beaches, parks, marinas, colleges/universities, tourist spots, and at special events.

Over the past six years, the CLPP has consistently cut cigarette butt litter by half based on local measurements taken in the first four to six months after implementation.  Survey results also showed that as communities continue to monitor the program those reductions are sustained or even increased over time. For example, eight communities that started programs between 2007 and 2009 showed a total average reduction of 74 percent when measured again in 2011.

“Changing ingrained behaviors, such as littering, requires a long-term and sustained commitment,” says Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “We’re clearly seeing evidence that the longer a community focuses on anti-litter education programs, the more successful their efforts will be.”

Tobacco products, consisting mainly of cigarette butts, are the most-littered item in America, representing nearly 38 percent of all items, according to “Litter in America,” KAB’s landmark 2009 study of litter and littering behavior. In response to this issue, KAB developed the CLPP with funding from Philip Morris USA, an Altria company.  In 2010, the program received additional support from RAI Services Company.  Since its inception, the program has been implemented in over 1,000 U.S. communities.

“Our cigarette litter prevention program at Lake Ouachita was successful in reducing not only cigarette butts and ashes, but all types of litter,” said Hot Springs/Garland County (Ark.) Beautification Commission Executive Director Adam Roberts. “It seems that drawing attention to the cigarette litter issue caused our visitors to take note of all their littering habits and act accordingly.”

A partnership with Boat U.S. Foundation showed that, on average, marinas that participated in the CLPP in 2011 saw a 50 percent decrease in cigarette litter at their marina. Nearly half of the participating marinas saw substantial reductions of 70 percent or greater.

“After all of the receptacles were installed, and the pocket ash trays and car receptacles were handed out, the number of butts and cigarette trash around Lake Ericson was reduced by 75 percent,” said Linda Studnicka, Keep Loup Basin (Neb.) Beautiful’s executive director.

Research has shown that even self-reported “non-litterers” often don’t consider tossing cigarette butts on the ground to be “littering.” Keep America Beautiful has found that cigarette butt litter occurs most often at transition points—areas where a person must stop smoking before proceeding into another area. These include bus stops, entrances to stores and public buildings, and the sidewalk areas outside of bars and restaurants, among others.

To address cigarette butt litter, KAB’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program recommends communities integrate four proven approaches:

• encourage enforcement of litter laws, including cigarette litter;
• raise awareness about the issue using public service messages;
• place ash receptacles at transition points such as entrances to public buildings; and
• distribute pocket or portable ashtrays to adult smokers.

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LG Electronics USA is leveraging its leadership in electronics recycling during the America Recycles Day, organized by Keep America Beautiful. Sponsoring electronics recycling events from Colorado to Virginia this week, LG is encouraging consumers to jump on the “I Recycle” bandwagon, the theme of the 2011 America Recycles Day, which takes place officially today, November 15.

Millions of Americans have pledged to increase their recycling habits at home and at work over the 14-year history of America Recycles Day, a nationally-recognized initiative dedicated to encouraging people to recycle more at home, at work and on the go, according to Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

As the exclusive consumer electronics national sponsor for America Recycles Day, LG has been doing its part by co-hosting two dozen electronics recycling events in 2011, while emphasizing the importance of replacing old electronics and appliances with Energy Star qualified products. So far this year, LG has collected more than 10 million pounds of unused and unwanted electronics products for responsible recycling.

“The LG Electronics Recycling Program provides consumers with a convenient and responsible way to dispose of used, unwanted, obsolete or damaged consumer electronics products,” said Wayne Park, President and CEO, LG Electronics USA. “After recycling their old products, consumers can save energy by upgrading to Energy Star qualified products,” Park continued, encouraging consumers to join LG in taking the “Change the World, Start with Energy Star” pledge and save energy by recycling old products.

“Recycling not only protects the environment, it strengthens the community,” said McKenna. “The simple act of recycling creates the impetus for innovation in industry and fosters green jobs. Recycling can save communities money through more efficient waste management, and significantly reduces energy costs and demands on our natural resources. Ultimately, recycling improves a community’s cohesion and impacts the local quality of life.”

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of over 1.200 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.

To join America Recycles Day, visit americarecyclesday.org. To learn more about Keep America Beautiful, visit www.kab.org.

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