On November 15, 2002, events will take
place across the nation to celebrate the success of recycling and
to encourage Americans to "Buy Recycled." Federal and state governments,
and national organizations including the Newspaper Association of
America, are working together to encourage people to complete the
recycling circle by purchasing recycled-content products.
 Community and statewide activities are being planned for America Recycles Day. For more information on how you can participate in the celebration and to learn about opportunities to create recycling success stories in your state or community, visit the America Recycles Day homepage at www.americarecyclesday.org, call the America Recycles Day state contact or contact NAA at (703) 902-1698. Newspaper Recycling SuccessMillions of Americans recycle. It's a way of life. Newspaper readers contribute to this remarkable success story by taking old newspapers to the curb for pick-up or to community recycling centers.
Most importantly, the amount of old
newspapers in the municipal solid-waste stream decreased, reducing
the need for new landfills. In 1998, old newspapers decreased to
only 4 percent of the total waste in the nation's landfills, compared
to 5.8 percent in 1980. The newspaper industry worked to increase recycling of old newspapers by requesting more recycled newsprint from suppliers who, in turn, increased their investments in recycling facilities in North American newsprint mills. As a result of these investments, the average amount of recycled fiber in newsprint has tripled in less than a decade.
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The
newspaper recycling rate has climbed from 35 percent in 1988 to
78 percent in 2001. Last year, 9 million of the 11 million tons
of newspaper in the U.S. was recovered and recycled.
