The team behind the new international Global Recycling Day have asked world leaders to put some recycling commitments on their New Year’s Resolution list.
As part of the first Global Recycling Day, to be held on 18 March, leaders have been encouraged to commit to seven changes that will help save the planet.
The international initiative has been designed by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) to raise awareness of the value of recyclables, something consumers have long considered waste.
Considered the 'seventh resource' after water, air, oil, natural gas, coal and minerals, the focus is on re-thinking the way waste is disposed.
In 2016, there was a record surge in C02 levels, and it is believed recyclables save over 700 million tonnes in CO2 emissions, offsetting all CO2 emissions generated by the aviation industry annually.
BIR has created a list of seven concrete commitments it is presenting to world leaders, which will be central to Global Recycling Day’s mission.
The commitments are:
- Implement and strengthen international agreements that promote recycling, and negotiate new ones as needed.
- Support and promote the sustainable trade of recyclable materials to ecologically sound companies across the globe.
- Educate, from the grass roots up, the public on the critical necessity of recycling.
- Agree to a common language of recycling (same definitions, same messages).
- Make recycling a community issue, supporting initiatives which help households and businesses provide seventh-resource materials for repurposing.
- Work with the industry to encourage ‘design for recycling’ in the reuse of materials – reducing waste and integrating ‘end-of-life’ functionality at the design stage.
- Support innovation, research and initiatives that foster better recycling practices.
A petition to have Global Recycling Day recognised by the UN, and for world leaders to recognise the seven commitments, has been created.
