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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New York and Pittsburgh, U.S.A. – PepsiCo announced on July 23, 2012, a multi-year relationship with the Pittsburgh Steelers to be the franchise’s exclusive non-alcoholic beverage, salty snacks and sports fuel provider. The deal marks the Steelers first partnership with PepsiCo’s expanded portfolio, which includes iconic brands such as Pepsi, Frito-Lay and Gatorade.

As part of the new sponsorship, PepsiCo will gain exclusive selling, dispensing and serving rights at Heinz Field; fixed stadium signage; venue and team sponsor assets; integration into the team’s mobile, TV and digital assets; and local media and retail promotional opportunities. The stadium conversion will be complete by the start of the Steelers’ 2012 season.

PepsiCo will also be introducing a limited-edition commemorative Pepsi MAX can in honor of the Steelers’ 80th anniversary, available throughout Pennsylvania beginning in the fall.

“We can’t wait to begin working closely with the Steelers, one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises, and be part of such a celebrated team with some of the league’s most passionate fans,” said PepsiCo North America Beverages Chief Marketing Officer Simon Lowden. “Our vast portfolio of food and beverage products will bring a lot of enjoyment to the Steelers’ community and we’re looking forward to partnering closely with the team on new initiatives. The Steelers organization is topnotch and shares our creative marketing vision.”

“We are excited about our new partnership with PepsiCo – a world-class company with a unique understanding of sports and what football fans want,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II. ”I’m sure our fans will enjoy the many promotions that we will have through our relationship with PepsiCo, which this year includes a commemorative 80th Season can that will be part of celebrating a significant year in Steelers history. We are thrilled to start this new partnership and look forward to making it entertaining for our fans to enjoy all of PepsiCo’s products.”

Image Courtesy of   The Pittsburgh Steelers

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Do you sometimes wish that you could do more for the environment but don’t know where to start? Maybe you’ve taken that first step by starting to recycle but with a hectic schedule you don’t think you have time to do anything else.

Luckily, there are several things you can do that are simple and don’t require a big investment of time and energy on the way to becoming green. Here’s a list of down-to-earth ways for you to reduce, reuse, and recycle your way to a more eco-conscience self:

1. Stop buying bottled water

Buying bottled water is both expensive and wasteful. Giving bottled water the boot will save money and help the environment. Bottled water creates 1.5 million tons of garbage yearly and although water bottles are recyclable, nearly 80 percent of these bottles aren’t recycled. If more people stop buying bottled water then fewer bottles will end up in landfills.

Two of the most popular bottled waters, Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani, are sold along side soda in vending machines and cost about $1.00 per bottle. Both brands are sold in 24-ounce bottles and their websites state that their products are filtered and purified, municipally supplied water.

What does that mean exactly? Essentially, when you buy a bottle of water, you’re paying about $0.05 per ounce for filtered city water.

A better way to do water on-the-go is to buy a filtered water pitcher and each person in your home a reusable, dishwasher-safe water bottle. The Brita Bottle makes ditching bottled water easy: this reusable water bottle from Brita has a built in filter which allows you to filter water anywhere.

2. Switch to reusable cloth towels and napkins

Skipping paper towels and napkins in favor if a cloth alternative reduces garbage that would end up in landfills and saves natural resources. Stock up on cloth towels and napkins and store them in a drawer in your kitchen then pull them out when needed.

An easy way to determine the amount of cloth napkins you’ll need for your family and reduce your laundry pile is to assign each member of the family a different color napkin or a different color napkin ring and then wash their napkin only when it truly needs it or at the end of the week. Something Different Linen offers one-dozen, 20-inch square, cotton dinner napkins for $23.00 for sale at Amazon.com.

The retailer also sells smaller, 6-inch square napkins that would perfect for tucking inside of a child’s school lunchbox.

3. Start using reusable shopping bags

Cities across the globe are passing bans on plastic shopping bags. With tens of billions of plastic shopping bags ending up in landfills each year it’s no wonder. Even though these bags are recyclable only a very small percentage ever ends up being recycled.

The key to using reusable shopping bags is remembering them when going shopping. Stash reusable shopping bags in your car, your purse, jacket pockets or any place where you’re likely to look before heading into the store.

You’ll often be able to find reusable shopping bags for sale in your neighborhood grocery store however many stylish, inexpensive bags are available. Envirosax offer designer prints, have been tested for strength and safety, and are available different styles. The company’s Greengrocer Series bags will fit in the palm of your hand when rolled up and just under $9.00.

4. Reduce the amount of mail you receive

Let’s face it – not everything we get in the mail is important. More than one billion pieces of junk mail are delivered each year and in the United Statesalone the catalogs, sales flyers and credit card offers that clog mail boxes account for one-third of all the mail delivered in the world.

You can reduce the amount of junk mail you receive by contacting the biggest offenders directly or by visiting DMAChoice.org or Catalogchoice.org. Both companies add your name and address to junk mail and catalog “do not mail” lists.

Every year inAmerica, more than 350 million magazines are published and nearly 50 percent of those purchased end up not being recycled. An easy way to ease to minimize to lessen the burden on the environment is to contact magazines publishers and request that your subscription be converted to a digital format.

5. Reduce water consumption

A running water faucet uses about two to three gallons of water per minute and a running shower uses about five gallons of water per minute. Why is this important? Knowing how much water you’re using when you turn on the tap or step into the shower helps when trying to conserve water.

Conserving water allows more water to stay in reservoirs which helps to maintain ecosystems and preserve water for future use. You can start to lower your water usage by taking shorter showers. The average person showers for eight minutes, using approximately 40 gallons of water.

Cutting your shower time to five minutes or less will save at least 15 gallons of water which can add up to thousands of gallons per year for just one person.

Also consider turning off water faucets while you brush your teeth and shave. It takes practice to remember to turn the faucet on and off, but soon it will become second nature.

6. Clean out closets and donate unused items to charity

We live in a world that thrives on consumerism and it would be safe to assume that you, like many others, have items in your home that you no longer use. Are your closets bursting with unworn clothing? What about that set of golf clubs in your garage that you no longer use or all of the board games collecting dust in your hall closet?

Donating your unused items to charity gives them new life and placing clothing, games and other gently used items into the hands of someone else promotes reuse. It doesn’t make sense to throw away something that somebody else might be able to use.

Two charities that accept donations and help those in need are Goodwill Industries International, Inc. and The Salvation Army. Goods donated to be sold at Salvation Army Family Stores benefit the charity’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers which the organization’s website explains assists people with issues of “substance misuse, legal problems, relational conflicts, homelessness, unemployment, and, most importantly, a need for spiritual awakening and restoration.”

Donations sold in one of Goodwill International’s stores are put to use by offering, “job training, employment placement and other services to people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.” Last year, Goodwill helped more than 2 million people train for careers.

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