Every fall, we here at Earth911 anxiously await our favorite holiday. No, it’s not Halloween or Thanksgiving (although those are pretty great, too) — it’s America Recycles Day, coming up on November 15.

America Recycles Day (ARD) is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States. A Keep America Beautiful (KAB) initiative, this annual event began in 1997 to spread the word about the importance of recycling and educate others on how to recycle correctly. Every year, on and around November 15, thousands of local event organizers plan activities to encourage people in their communities to recycle.

Not everyone knows that there is a right and wrong way to recycle, but there is! In fact, one of the biggest barriers to recycling is knowing what items can (and cannot) be recycled. ARD events help individuals understand the value of recycling correctly — and why it’s so important that we all participate.

A 2025 survey by The Harris Poll conducted for Keep America Beautiful shows that 87% of Americans believe recycling is essential and that support for recycling cuts across age groups, geographic regions, and political affiliations. However, the national recycling rate remains stuck at 32%. The gap between belief and action is our opportunity to make a difference by acting and applying proper recycling practices.

In 2025, Keep America Beautiful (KAB) has expanded the celebration beyond a single day. This November, America Recycles Day becomes America Recycles Month, and KAB offers daily challenges throughout the month. Participants can complete a daily challenge, share their progress using #AmericaRecycles, and tag @KeepAmericaBeautiful on social media. It’s a fun way to see how many days in a row you can reduce, reuse, and recycle while building lasting sustainable habits.

Take the Recycling Reality Check Quiz

Think you know what’s recyclable and what’s not? Test your knowledge with Keep America Beautiful’s Recycling Reality Check Quiz. You might be surprised by what you discover! This interactive quiz helps identify common recycling mistakes and teaches you how to recycle right.

Take the #BeRecycled Pledge

KAB continues its popular #BeRecycled Pledge, inviting Americans to commit to reducing, reusing, and recycling in all aspects of daily life. By taking the pledge, you join thousands of others in a collective national effort to improve recycling. The pledge includes three simple commitments:

• Learn. Find out what materials are collected for recycling in your community.
• Act. Within the next month, reduce the amount of waste you produce, recycle more, and buy products made with recycled content.
• Share. In the next month, encourage one family member or one friend to take the #BeRecycled pledge.

Join the Greatest American Cleanup

Recycling isn’t just about sorting bins at home. The Greatest American Cleanup provides opportunities to jump into action and make recycling part of your community beautification mission. It’s not just about cleaning up litter. Giving those materials a second life prevents them from ending up in a landfill.

Support the National Recycling Goal

The EPA recognizes America Recycles Day as an important milestone in working toward the National Recycling Goal: increasing the U.S. recycling rate to 50 percent by 2030. Today, America’s recycling rate stands at 32 percent, up from less than seven percent in 1960. By recycling right, you’re contributing to this ambitious national goal.

Learn What Can (and Cannot) Be Recycled

One of the most important actions you can take is understanding your local recycling guidelines. Curbside programs commonly accept items like cardboard, metal cans, and paper, but items like plastic bags, electronics, and batteries typically should not be placed in the curbside recycling bin. Visit the EPA’s Common Recyclables guide to learn how to recycle specific items. Search Earth911’s Recycling Locator to discover what’s accepted in your community.

If you’d like to organize your own America Recycles Day event, KAB has resources to help you get started. Past events have included:

• “Fall into recycling” events to swap Halloween costumes and compost leftover pumpkins
• Free electronics recycling drives to reduce e-waste
• Waste-free lunch initiatives at schools
• Pledge drives at neighborhood meetings
• Litter cleanup events along waterways and in parks
• Recycling education workshops at libraries and community centers

KAB welcomes unique recycling-related ideas and provides support to help make your event successful. By registering your event, you join a strong network of individuals and organizations across the nation committed to improving curbside recycling and building a comprehensive recycling platform for America.

Finding Local Events

Many local nonprofits, government entities, corporations, and private and public organizations host events during the week of November 15. To find events in your area:

• Check your local government’s website for recycling and environmental programs
• Search for Keep America Beautiful affiliate chapters in your region
• Follow local waste management companies on social media
• Search social media using #AmericaRecycles and #AmericaRecyclesDay
• Contact your municipal recycling coordinator

Local events include facility tours, educational workshops, recycling collection drives for hard-to-recycle items, and community cleanup activities.

2025 Local America Recycles Day Events

Here are six community events taking place on November 15, 2025. There are many other recycling events scheduled, showing that Americans are celebrating recycling:

Norfolk, Virginia – UpCycle Festival

Keep Norfolk Beautiful and Norfolk Public Library host this sustainability festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library. The festival features hands-on workshops including composting, jewelry-making and repair, basic hand-sewing, plastic-bag basket weaving, and metal flower-making. The Norfolk Environmental Commission will host a panel discussion on actionable solutions to combat plastic pollution.

Tuolumne County, California – Free Drive-Thru Recycling

Tuolumne County Public Works holds a free drive-thru recycling event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora. The Salvation Army will be on-site to accept gently used clothing and household goods. Visit the county website for a list of acceptable recyclable materials.

Monroe, Louisiana – Ouachita Green Annual Event

Ouachita Green’s annual drive-through recycling event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Monroe Civic Center. Residents can drop off electronics, cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, and metal without leaving their vehicles. The event is free to attend, and volunteers help with unloading. Open to all Ouachita Parish households.

Apache Junction, Arizona – Electronics Recycling

The City of Apache Junction hosts an electronics recycling event from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Apache Junction and Gold Canyon residents can properly dispose of electronic waste, including computers, monitors, TVs, and other electronics.

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania – E-Waste Collection

PAR-Recycle Works holds a community electronics recycling event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lifetime Fitness. Residents can drop off e-waste for proper recycling and disposal.

Fort Worth, Texas – Library Education Series

The Fort Worth Public Library offers 50 activities across multiple library locations throughout the day. Events include educational workshops and interactive programs designed to educate residents on the importance of recycling and sustainable practices.

Recycling well is more than simply placing items in a curbside bin. When done correctly, recycling:

• Reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators
• Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals
• Increases economic security by tapping domestic sources of materials
• Prevents pollution by reducing the need to mine raw materials
• Saves energy
• Supports American manufacturing
• Creates jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries

According to the EPA’s 2020 Recycling Economic Information study, which analyzed 2012 data, recycling and reuse activities accounted for 681,000 jobs, $37.8 billion in wages, and $5.5 billion in tax revenues. Your recycling creates 1.17 jobs for every 1,000 tons of materials.

Make It a Year-Round Commitment

If America Recycles Day provides an opportunity to learn and take action, your real impact comes from making recycling a daily habit. Use November 15 as a starting point to evaluate your recycling practices, learn what can be recycled in your community, and commit to recycling correctly all year long. However, confusion, inconsistent rules, and lack of access are keeping recycling rates stubbornly low—a figure that has remained steady for nearly a decade.

Learn more about America Recycles Day and access additional resources at AmericaRecyclesDay.org and the EPA’s America Recycles Day page.

Editor’s Note: Originally published on November 2, 2025, this article was most recently updated in November 2025.