IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 122 

Supporting the goal and mission of America Recycles Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2007 

Mr. INSLEE (for himself, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. DICKS, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. WOLF, Ms. BEAN, 

Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. 

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Florida, and Ms. LEE) submitted the following concurrent 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goal and mission of America Recycles Day. 

Whereas America Recycles Day is on November 15th of each 

year; 

Whereas America Recycles Day is an annual national awareness event, the mission of which is promoting the social, 

environmental, and economic benefits of recycling and 

buying recycled-content products; 

Whereas the goal of America Recycles Day is to increase the 

purchase of recycled-content products and recycling 

throughout America; 

Whereas Americans have a long tradition of recycling; 

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•HCON 122 IH 

Whereas, in 1896, the first recycling center was established 

in New York City, and, by 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency had set a national waste reduction and recycling goal, and 26 States had enacted laws making recycling an integral part of their solid waste management 

plans; 

Whereas, in 2003, homes, businesses, and institutions in the 

United States produced more than 236,000,000 tons of 

municipal solid waste; 

Whereas this amounts to approximately 4.5 pounds of waste 

per person in the United States per day, and is almost 

triple the amount of municipal solid waste generated in 

1960; 

Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency reports that 

30 percent of municipal solid waste is recovered for recycling or composting, 14 percent is incinerated, and the 

remaining 56 percent is disposed of in landfills; 

Whereas a significant amount of the waste that is incinerated 

or sent to landfills can be recovered for recycling or 

composting through source separation, mechanical separation, and community-based recycling programs; 

Whereas recycling saves energy, which in turn can reduce 

American dependence on foreign oil and prevent pollution 

associated with energy production; reduces the need to 

extract certain natural resources; can create more jobs 

than incineration and landfilling; can cost communities 

less than other waste disposal options; supplies valuable 

raw materials to industry; stimulates green technology 

development; and reduces the need for new landfills and 

combustors; 

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Whereas, over the past 10 years, many new markets for recycled products have been created, including remanufacturing plastic containers into other plastic containers, 

fleece, carpet, car parts, strapping, stuffing, bottles, pipe, 

lawn and garden products, injection molded products, 

and plastic lumber; 

Whereas, while there are many new markets for recycled 

products, community curbside pickup programs have decreased and recycling rates for certain recyclable household products, like plastic and aluminum containers, have 

decreased or stayed the same; 

Whereas Federal, State, and local governments should encourage increased recycling of recyclable household products; and 

Whereas there remains significant opportunity to increase recycling in the United States, and Americans should be 

encouraged to participate in educational, organizational, 

and legislative endeavors that promote waste separation 

methods, community-based recycling programs, and expanded utilization of recovered materials: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) supports the goal and mission of America 

4 Recycles Day; and 

5 (2) encourages all Americans to participate in 

6 promoting the social, environmental, and economic 

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•HCON 122 IH 

1 benefits of recycling and buying recycled-content 

2 products. 

Æ 

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