CENTRAL FLORIDA – The United States' 20th celebration of "America Recycles Day," Wednesday showed that there are a number of reasons to be optimistic for the country's sustainability.
"America Recycles Day" is an annual initiative of from the nonprofit organization, Keep America Beautiful.
Recommended Videos
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. has made progress in recycling efforts. The agencies most recent data indicates that, "recycling and reuse activities in the United States accounted for 757,000 jobs and produced $36 billion in wages in a single year."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently choose Orlando to be the pilot city for its Beyond 34: Recycling and Recovery for a New Economy pilot project. The results of programs are ideas like Mayor Buddy Dyer's Green Works Orlando initiative. There's evidence to show that Central Florida is doing its best to set the pace for the rest of the country to become more sustainable in the future.
On Wednesday, the City of Orlando's official twitter account tweeted out their Green Works Orlando survey, which takes input from citizens on a variety of issues on how to create a more "green" Orlando.
Help our city become one of the most sustainable communities in the country.
— City of Orlando (@citybeautiful) November 15, 2017
Take our Green Works Orlando survey --> https://t.co/kjJpIqeDLZ pic.twitter.com/WIl9835G38
Orlando International Airport, which also held an official America Recycles Day event on Wednesday, touted the results of recycling metal, tires and cardboard in 2016.
Any heavy metal fans?🤘
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) November 15, 2017
In 2016, the metal we recycled equaled the weight of 2️⃣ 757s. #AmericaRecyclesDay ♻️ pic.twitter.com/78WiBZkivZ
We never get tired of recycling!
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) November 15, 2017
Total weight of tires recycled at MCO in 2016 = 🔟 cars.#AmericaRecyclesDay ♻️ pic.twitter.com/nQh09XOPZe
Here’s a treet: Our 2016 recycling efforts for cardboard & shredded paper led to over 14,000 trees being saved. 🌳#AmericaRecyclesDay ♻️ pic.twitter.com/bs1m8HUXRT
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) November 15, 2017
OIA's America Recycles Day event featured games and vendors, and took a collection for eyeglasses, cellphones, shoes, clothing, and small electronics.
Happy America Recycles Day from Keep Orlando Beautiful & Recycle Ben! They celebrated at Orlando International Airport by engaging employees and guests on properly recycling no matter your destination. #KeepFLBeautiful #BeRecycled pic.twitter.com/ckYVWP3Hwe
— Keep FL Beautiful (@KeepFLBeautiful) November 16, 2017
Two more official "America Recycles Day" events will be held in the Central Florida area on Saturday.
The Orange County Landfill will offer tours and exhibits for guests to visit and learn more about waste collection in the area from 10 a.m. to noon.
The City of Winter Park has organized a recycling dropoff event at the Winter Park Public Works Compound from 8 a.m. to noon. Residents are encouraged to bring batteries, laptops, notebooks, tablets, cellphones, printers, gaming consoles and more. The full list of acceptable electronics to bring can be found here.
More information on "America Recycles Day" and "Keep America Beautiful" can be found here. For more information on programs involved Dyer's Green Works Orlando initiative, click here.