Global Recycling Day set for March 18

Learn about conserving natural resources and more from the Bureau of International Recycling

Organizers at the Bureau of International Recycling in New Delhi, India, say the countdown has begun for its 2017 World Recycling Day, with details on how to participate posted online at www.globalrecyclingday.com.

The goal of this first ever Global Recycling Day is to unite people across the world, highlighting the need to conserve water, air, coal, oil, natural gas and minerals, and to celebrate the power of the newly termed “seventh resource,” the goods recycled every day. This initiative was initiated by Ranjit Baxi, who announced his vision for a day dedicated to recycling during his inauguration of president of the BIR in Dubai in 2015.

The core message for this date is that every year the Earth yields billions of tons of natural resources to create consumables, but at some point there could be nothing left, so people must think again about what is thrown away and seek opportunities rather than waste.

Global Recycling Day will focus on a global approach to recycling and call on world leaders, international businesses, communities and individuals to make clear commitments in their approach to recycling.

These commitments include a focus on international legislation and agreements, boosting free and fair trade of recycling materials across the globe, educating the public on the critical necessity of recycling, agreeing to a common language of recycling, and making recycling a community issue.

The commitments also include working with industry to encourage design for recycling in repurposing of materials to reduce waste, and supporting innovation, research and initiatives that foster better recycling practices and technology.

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“Primary resources, as we all know, are finite,” Baxi said. “It is our collective duty, across the globe, to preserve, respect and make the best use of virgin resources.

“The world has six significant natural resources – water, air, coal, oil, natural gas and minerals. My goal in envisaging and now launching Global Recycling Day is to show the world that there is a Seventh Resource, as precious as and more sustainable than all the others, the materials we recycle.”

Baxi noted that climate change is the major, overriding environmental issue of our time, and the single greatest challenge facing environmental regulators.

“It is a growing crisis with economic, health and safety, food production, security, and other dimensions,” he said. “It is therefore imperative to promote a sustainable solution which will turn this challenge into an opportunity.”

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