Virginia Recycles 2006

The TENTH annual celebration of America Recycles will culminate November 15, 2006. The goal of this campaign is to encourage Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products.

America Recycles is sponsored locally by the Virginia Recycling Association (VRA) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (for the DC and northern Virginia area). These organizations oversee the local promotion of this campaign, and provide a variety of services such as distributing promotional materials, printing pledge cards, and creating exciting incentive contests featuring prizes made from recycled materials.

How can you participate?

Plan a fun event to generate excitement about recycling in your community. Events can be held at any time of year, but most occur in the fall.

• Encourage your city/town/county governing body to make a proclamation of November 15th as "(County) Recycles Day" or November as "(County) Recycles Month"
• Hold a special single-day recycling drive and award prizes for the people who collect and bring in the most items. Collect items like aluminum cans, cell phones, ink jet cartridges, rechargeable batteries, etc.
• Coordinate an environmental literacy day at your local public or school library. Read aloud recycling books to local children.
• Sponsor a coloring or art contest with an environmental theme. Require found, reclaimed or otherwise trash-bound materials for a sculpture or fashion contest.
• Partner with a local business to showcase the variety of recycled products or packaging available.

For other ideas of how Virginia communities observed America Recycles in 2005, please visit the 2005 website or contact Kelley Hope, Virginia America Recycles liaison, or John Snarr, DC/Northern VA America Recycles liaison.

The national committee has also provided educational posters that you can use to help raise awareness about recycling in your community. The series of posters promote the recycling of four materials: newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic soda bottles and mixed paper. Hang the posters in public areas that get a lot of traffic such as:

• Government offices
• Schools
• Libraries
• Grocery stores
• Sandwich shops
• Employee lounges at big businesses
• Other places appropriate for your community!

Click here to view the posters.

Encourage members of your community to express their commitment to recycling in the next year by making pledge cards available at the same public areas where you display the posters. By pledging their commitment, citizens are eligible to win exciting prizes! Return pledge cards that you have collected to the VRA by November 19, 2006 at the address below. Click here for the pledge card.

Virginia Recycling Association
Post Office Box 18155
Richmond, Virginia 23226

Contact VRA’s Administrative Assistant, Erica Trout, to request copies of the poster or pledge card. Erica may be reached at ericatrout@msn.com.

There are many opportunities for people to win. Six prizes will be awarded at the national, or grand prize, level. Ten prizes, sponsored by VRA, will also be awarded at the state level.

America Recycles 2006 Prizes

Adult
Grand Prize (1): Alaskan Cruise for two
VRA First (1): License plate purse, license plate CD case
VRA Second (1): Recycled billboard bag
VRA Third (3): Recycled paper stationery

Youth
Grand (5): Trek Bicycles
VRA First (1): Earth Wagon
VRA Second (1): Juice bag purse, fleece hat and mittens
VRA Third (3): Recycled crayons & notepad

You can also award prizes locally. See the list for recycled-product suppliers and prize ideas.

Be sure to send details about an event or celebration you plan to hold to the appropriate America Recycles liaison. We will post them to the national America Recycles calendar of events, list them on the VRA website and include them in press releases we send out to the media.