[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 177 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING AMERICA RECYCLES DAY

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                         HON. PATRICK J. TIBERI

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2007

  Mr. TIBERI. Madam Speaker, as many of my colleagues know, today is 
America Recycles Day. Celebrating its 10th year, America Recycles Day 
is dedicated to raising awareness about the benefits of recycling and 
encouraging Americans to increase their involvement in recycling at 
home and work. It also serves as a reminder of the social, 
environmental and economic benefits of recycling.
  We're familiar with many recyclables, as more and more Americans take 
them out to their bins every day. Cardboard boxes are recycled and re-
appear as new boxes. Yesterday's front page of a local newspaper may 
show up as a sports page next month. Glass bottles, aluminum cans, and 
plastics are also fixtures of daily recycling habits. According to U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, recycling is conservatively projected 
to have saved 900 trillion Btus, equal to the annual energy use of 9 
million households, in 2005.
  But it's also important to recognize that recycling is much bigger 
than just the daily household products that end up in the curbside bin. 
More than 150 million tons of old cars, tires, materials from buildings 
that have been demolished, and a wide variety of left- over 
manufacturing materials are recycled in this country every year.
  Scrap recycling is a $65 billion industry in the U.S. that employs 
over 50,000 people. It also invests significant capital in high-tech, 
environmentally designed manufacturing machinery that is used to sort, 
pack, transform, process, manufacture and ship materials to become new 
products. The scrap recycling industry is also a leading exporter, 
sending more than $15 billion a year in products to over 140 countries 
around the world.
  I hope all Americans will take a moment to think today about the role 
recycling plays in their daily lives, the environment, and our economy, 
and dedicate themselves to doing more.

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