America Recycles Day, 2012

Vol. 77

Tuesday,

No. 224

November 20, 2012

Part IV

The President

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Proclamation 8905--America Recycles Day, 2012

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8905 of November 15, 2012

America Recycles Day, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For 15 years, our country has celebrated America
Recycles Day as a time to focus on conserving valuable
materials, keeping our communities clean, and
protecting our environment. Today, we reflect on the
progress we have made toward fulfilling those important
goals and rededicate ourselves to building a more
sustainable future.

Each year, recycling puts millions of pounds of
valuable materials back into use. By diverting old
products from the landfill to the factory floor, we
take meaningful steps toward a greener economy and help
power an entire industry centered on recycling, reuse,
and refurbishing. We also reduce or avoid the
environmental impacts of using virgin materials.

As many of us prepare to gather with families and
friends this Thanksgiving, America Recycles Day offers
a chance to highlight another resource that is too
often taken for granted: food. Though many Americans
lack access to regular, nutritious meals, much of our
country's food goes to waste. To put surplus food to
better use, the Environmental Protection Agency is
partnering with businesses and organizations in the
Food Recovery Challenge, which is helping participants
support their communities through food donation and
protect their bottom line by reducing waste. By
consuming carefully and donating what we can, each of
us can join in that important work. Food banks and
pantries accept wholesome food that meets quality and
safety standards, as do many national and local food
recovery programs. Through giving to those in need, all
Americans can lift up their communities while helping
protect the environment we share.

Aldo Leopold once said that conservation is ``a
positive exercise of skill and insight, not merely a
negative exercise of abstinence and caution.'' With
that important lesson in mind, let us commemorate
America Recycles Day by taking bold action to preserve
our natural resources, strengthen our economy, and
protect the bountiful landscapes we have been blessed
with.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim November 15, 2012, as
America Recycles Day. I call upon the people of the
United States to observe this day with appropriate
programs and activities, and I encourage all Americans
to continue their reducing, reusing, and recycling
efforts throughout the year.

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