America Recycles Day
Poster Contest

Calling all K-8 grade students to help
celebrate America Recycles Day!!

To celebrate America Recycles Day, all kindergarten through eighth grade students – public, private and home schools in Kitsap County are invited to participate in the America Recycles Day Poster Contest. Ten posters chosen as grade level winners will be featured on this website and in local newspapers. In addition, all entries will appear in the photo gallery on the county website.

POSTER CONTEST RULES & INFORMATION
RECYCLING LESSONS & ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

What is America Recycles Day?
America Recycles Day, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful Inc., is one of the most comprehensive recycling awareness campaigns in the nation. Each year millions of people become better informed about recycling and the importance of choosing recycled content products and packaging.

Recycling is important!
Each year Americans generate nearly 230 million tons of municipal solid waste. That’s more than 4.6 pounds per person per day. To put this into context, the paper that four people use in a year weighs as much as a small car, about 2,300 pounds.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates one job; landfilling 10,000 tons of waste creates six jobs; recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs”. So, by recycling we can help create jobs, conserve energy, save natural resources, and reduce waste, while protecting our environment. The item you recycled today can then be used as feedstock in the remanufacturing of new products tomorrow.

Recycling Facts

• Recycling one ton of newspaper saves 4,074-kilowatt hours of electricity – enough to heat about six homes for week!
• Recycling one ton of aluminum saves 37 barrels of oil.
• Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees and 7000 gallons of water (US EPA).
• Glass never wears out - it can be recycled forever.
• Plastics require 100 to 400 years to break down in a landfill.

Recycling in Kitsap County
Last year, Kitsap County residents and businesses recycled over 93,671 tons of recyclable material:

• Kitsap County residents brought nearly 42 thousand pounds of household batteries to Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Facility for recycling.
• Kitsap and Mason County residents brought 342 tons of household hazardous waste to the Kitsap County HHW Collection Facility for proper disposal or recycling.
• Kitsap County residents recycled 869 tons of electronics.
• In Kitsap County the curbside yard waste collection program collected 4,930 tons of yard waste.

Staff Contact:   Jo Meints, ARD Poster Contest Coordinator

Kitsap County Public Works
Solid Waste Division
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
solidwaste@co.kitsap.wa.us