[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 183 (Friday, November 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8906-H8907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL RECYCLING DAY

  (Ms. SCHRIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SCHRIER. Madam Speaker, today is National Recycling Day.
  As a Nation and world, we are accumulating single-use plastics at an 
alarming rate. By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the 
world's oceans.
  This is why recycling is critical, and we need more education for all 
of us about how best to recycle.
  We also need help from industry to either avoid plastic altogether or 
package their goods with the most desirable and recyclable types of 
plastic.
  As consumers, though, our standard should be ``Made from 100 percent 
recycled materials'' and not ``Made from recyclable materials.'' There 
is a vast difference.
  We all know the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. But we can't just 
recycle. That is the third choice. Our top

[[Page H8907]]

priorities should be reducing and reusing.
  So what can we do? We can start by making good personal choices, and 
here is an easy one: Don't use plastic utensils.
  More than 100 million plastic utensils are used and thrown away into 
landfills every day across the country. They can't be recycled.
  We can think twice about whether we really need our water to come in 
plastic bottles. There are far better choices.
  And for Democrats, the party that commits to careful environmental 
stewardship, we absolutely, positively must lead by example.
  Madam Speaker, in the coming months I will be reaching out to my 
colleagues to take action on this issue.
  Happy recycling day.

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