America Recycles Day, 2000

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Part V

The President

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Proclamation 7377--America Recycles Day, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7377 of November 15, 2000

America Recycles Day, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As we look forward to Thanksgiving, our annual
celebration of America's great bounty, it is
appropriate to observe America Recycles Day and focus
on how to preserve that bounty for the benefit of
future generations.

Recycling waste and purchasing products made from
recycled materials are among the easiest and most
effective measures every American can take to conserve
our resources and create a cleaner environment.
Currently, our country recovers more than 28 percent of
the billions of pounds of waste generated by Americans
annually--an effort that translates into enough savings
to supply the energy needs of 9 million U.S.
households. But the recycling process succeeds only
when recovered materials are returned to retailers as
new products that are purchased by consumers;
otherwise, the recycled products themselves must be
disposed of as waste.

Buying recycled products conserves resources, reduces
water and air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,
and saves energy. While beneficial for the environment,
the recycling process is good for our economy as well.
By promoting the development of markets for recycled
products, we are also creating new jobs, many of which
are in America's inner cities, where job creation is
particularly critical. It is estimated that while
incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates 1 job, and
landfilling the same amount creates 6 jobs, recycling
the same 10,000 tons creates 36 jobs. Nationwide,
recycling and remanufacturing provide 1 million jobs
and $100 billion in revenue.

To ensure the Federal Government's leadership in the
recycling effort, I signed an Executive Order in 1998
directing all Federal agencies to expand and strengthen
their commitment to recycling and buying recycled-
content and environmentally preferable products. The
Federal Government now purchases more than $350 million
in recycled-content products annually--an increase of
$112 million a year, or 30 percent, from just a decade
ago.

America Recycles Day helps us to build on this progress
by uniting environmental and community organizations,
business and industry, and agencies at all levels of
government as partners in the vital effort to keep
recycling working. By encouraging every business and
consumer in America to start or enhance recycling
efforts and to buy recycled-content products, we can
sustain our economy, improve our environment, and
preserve our precious natural resources for the sake of
generations to come.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim November 15, 2000, as
America Recycles Day. I urge all Americans to observe
this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities and
to take personal responsibility for the environment not
only by recycling, but also by choosing to purchase and
use products made from recycled materials.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.