Signature program
One day the whole country recycles together
November 15. America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to recycling in the United States — a single date to learn what actually goes in the bin, and to keep doing it the other 364 days.
How You Can Join the Fun America Recycles Day isn’t just a one-day thing – it’s a chance to look at your recycling habits and make some awesome changes that will last. Here’s how you can get involved:
The movement, measured
What one day moved
521
Recycling events
Held across the country
1,706,858
Pounds recycled
Collected on and around the day
1,300,567
Impressions
People reached with the message
Source: Keep America Beautiful — America Recycles Day 2021 results, as reported in the 25th-anniversary release (kab.org)
Three ways in
Recycle more, and recycle right
One wrong item can contaminate a whole load. Knowing what belongs in your bin is the highest-value thing most people can do.
Take the #AmericaRecycles Challenge!
This November, America Recycles Day® becomes America Recycles Month! Join the fun — complete a daily challenge, share using #AmericaRecycles, and tag @KeepAmericaBeautiful. How many days in a row can you reduce, reuse, and recycle?
Get Ready to Celebrate
America Recycles Day!
Small actions can lead to big impact! Each year on November 15, millions of Americans come together for America Recycles Day – a day all about spreading the word on how recycling helps us reduce waste, save energy, and conserve precious resources.
What is America Recycles Day?
America Recycles Day, brought to you by Keep America Beautiful, is the only nationally recognized day that’s all about recycling! It’s a time to learn, get inspired, and take action. Whether at home, school, or work, we can all pitch in to recycle more and waste less.
From plastic bottles and aluminum cans to paper and electronics – recycling helps keep tons of materials out of landfills, saves natural resources, and reduces pollution. And who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
The Impact
In 2025, our volunteers, affiliates, and partners made a big impact through our America Recycles Day initiative!
Take Action Now
Keep America Beautiful Recycling Pilot Shows Strong Results at Grand Teton National Park
June 15, 2026 · McCall Vrydaghs
Inside the Effort to Keep Our National Parks Clean Beautiful
November 21, 2025 · McCall Vrydaghs
Keep America Beautiful Honors Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow with 2025 America Recycles Day Hero Award
November 17, 2025 · McCall Vrydaghs
Recycling reality check quiz
Have you taken the Recycling Reality Check Quiz yet? Test your knowledge today!
Thanks to Our America Recycles National Sponsors:
America Recycles Day is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States. Held on and around November 15, it asks a narrow, answerable question: not whether you recycle, but whether you recycle right.
The day focuses on individual action — being mindful of what you consume, knowing where and how to recycle it, and pledging to keep doing both. One day to educate, one day to motivate, a lifetime to make it happen.
The #BeRecycled pledge
More than 100,000 people have committed to choosing a recycled lifestyle at home, in their communities and at work. Keep America Beautiful supplies the education and toolkits that turn a pledge into a habit.
Why the day exists
Recycling's problems are collective — contamination, collection economics, end markets — but its fixes start individually. ARD is the point in the year when the national conversation and the household bin line up.
The Impact
In 2025, our volunteers, affiliates, and partners made a big impact through our America Recycles Day initiative!