Matt was one of thousands of Minnesotans and more than two million Americans who completed a pledge card as part of the America Recycles Day campaign. America Recycles Day is a national campaign to promote the economic and environmental benefits of recycling and recycled content products. It saves energy and reduces air and water pollution because we use less raw materials for new products. But awareness is much lower about what happens to recycled materials after they leave the curb.
Recycled materials end up as a variety of new products.
Newspapers get made into cellulose insulation. Steel gets made into new steel. Plastic bottles often end up in carpet. Other paper can appear as recycled paperboard for cereal boxes. The America Recycles Day campaign arose three years ago to raise awareness about these products so that consumers can help keep up markets for the material.