America Recycles Day, celebrated on November 15th, has passed us by. Did you celebrate with your children by utilizing your local recycling center, repurposing something that you otherwise would have thrown away or by taking the Keep America Beautiful pledge? If you did, wonderful! If you missed out on celebrating America Recycles Day, that’s okay! You can celebrate recycling any day of the year.
Recycling is a great activity for children to participate in, not only because it helps the environment and reduces waste, but also because it can be a sorting project, requiring children to pay attention to details.
A great place to start your recycling journey is your local library, where you can find children’s books about recycling and examples of recycling. When we update the DBRL buildings or buy new furniture, we give preference to local products and products that have a percentage of the content made from recycled materials.
For example, at the Columbia Public Library, the rubber flooring in the lobby and south hallway is made from recycled tires. The metal ceiling grids are a product originally used as a backing for dry wall, and the second floor balcony panels are made from the same material as cattle panels.The legs of the reader tables at the Southern Boone County Public Library in Ashland are made from recycled plastic detergent bottles, and the red plastic lounge seating and tables are made of recycled plastic. The Callaway County Public Library in Fulton also has wonderful examples of reusing materials. It has two sets of glass windows from the original Carnegie library. One set is behind the reference desk, and the other set is above the magazines.
Want to find locations where you can recycle things from plastic bags to appliances? Use this recycling locator.
