IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 289 
Supporting the goal and mission of America Recycles Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 2, 2005 
Mr. INSLEE (for himself and Mr. SHAYS) submitted the following concurrent 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goal and mission of America Recycles Day. 
Whereas America Recycles Day is on November 15, 2005; 
Whereas America Recycles Day is an annual national aware-
ness 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; 
Whereas, in 1896, the first recycling center was established 
in New York City, and, by 1989, the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency had set a national waste reduction and re-
cycling goal, and 26 States had enacted laws making re-
•HCON 289 IH 
cycling 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 recy-
cling 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 sepa-
ration, 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; 
Whereas, over the past 10 years, many new markets for recy-
cled products have been created, including remanufac-
turing plastic containers into other plastic containers, 
fleece, carpet, car parts, strapping, stuffing, bottles, pipe,
•HCON 289 IH 
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 de-
creased and recycling rates for certain recyclable house-
hold products, like plastic and aluminum containers, have 
decreased or stayed the same; 
Whereas Federal, State, and local governments should en-
courage increased recycling of recyclable household prod-
ucts; and 
Whereas there remains significant opportunity to increase re-
cycling 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 ex-
panded utilization of recovered materials: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress— 
(1) supports the goal and mission of America 
Recycles Day; and 
(2) encourages all Federal employees to partici-
pate in promoting the social, environmental, and 
economic benefits of recycling and buying recycled- 
content products. 
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