First Ever 'Global Recycling Day' Hailed as a Success

First Ever ‘Global Recycling Day’ hailed as a success

The Bureau for International Recycling is lobbying for Global Recycling Day to be recognised as an official day in the UN calendar after the event was an astounding success.

Global Recycling Day, which took place on 18^th March, gained global support and events were held all over the world, in London, Paris, Delhi, and Sydney.

The figures backing up the day’s success are still being compiled into a report, but the bureau said that early indications are that the day has exceeded expectations.

The aims of Global Recycling Day

The bureau’s Global Recycling Day manifesto outlined how the initiative aims to encourage a global approach to recycling. It wants people to think of recycled or recyclable materials as the ‘Seventh Resource’ after water, air, coal, oil, natural gas, and minerals. The project also aims to raise awareness about how people can manage their waste better and recycle more successfully.

On Global Recycling Day, participants called on businesses, global leaders, individuals, and their communities to make 7 commitments to reduce waste and recycle more, including;

• Reducing the use of single-use plastics
• Increase awareness of local recycling rules and follow them
• Prevent contamination of recyclable materials
• Mend, repair, and reuse items wherever possible
• Make better choices when shopping-buy recyclable packaging or choose items which have less packaging
• Recycle more electronic items
• Always strive to reduce your individual ‘waste footprint’

As part of Global Recycling Day, participants took part in activities ranging from litter picks and educational programmes, to community events and petition signings. The event was supported by some well-known brands and businesses, such as Danone, Veolia, and Nestle water, who also shared the hashtag #GlobalRecyclingDay. More than 7000 people have signed a petition to have the day recognised officially in the UN calendar.

Recycling is everyone’s business

The bureau’s president, who came up with the idea for Global Recycling Day back in 2015, said that to really make recycling work, there needs to be a global approach towards recycling collection, processing, and use. He added that we need to put the planet first and make sure we all spend some time in the day to make sure we’re recycling correctly. But it’s not just individuals who can make the difference, it’s also the job of industry to make sure that recycling is made easier, partly by designing products and packaging to be more recyclable.