Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/212883
3 KAB Promotes Recycling Behavior The average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash a day, and on the whole the United States produces more than 250 million tons of trash a year. However, only about 35 percent is currently recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To address this national issue, the Ad Council and Keep America Beautiful (KAB) launched a new public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling with the goal to make recycling a daily social norm. More than 40 years after the iconic "crying Indian" advertising campaign, I Want to Be Recycled, is aiming to motivate Americans to recycle more every day. In keeping with KAB's mission to 'engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment', the new campaign encourages consumers to do their part to make recycling successful. I Want to Be Recycled features a complimentary website that provides a localized search tool for users to find information on recycling in their area as well as other environmental resources. It aims to generate awareness, mobilize individual ownership and explain how and where consumers can recycle. In conjunction with the campaign launch, KAB featured an educational webinar on promoting recycling behavior. In addition to unveiling the new campaign, the Ad Council released the results of a survey that shows only 52 percent of Americans say that they are "very" or "extremely" knowledgeable about how to properly recycle. And that only 38 percent say they are "avid recyclers," recycling as much as possible and willing to go out of their way to do so. "Based on survey feedback, we know people want to recycle. This campaign is designed to tap into that desire as well as provide helpful tools to make recycling easier." said Brenda Pulley, Keep America Beautiful senior vice president, recycling. Founded by a group of corporate and civic leaders in 1953, KAB was a revolutionary idea - bringing the public and private sectors together to develop and promote a national cleanliness ethic. With a network of more than 1,200 affiliate ASTM Rennovates the Resin Identification Code The chasing arrows found on plastic containers, formally known as the Resin Identification Code (RIC), are a universal symbol for recycling. It is a common misperception that all packages stamped with the symbol are recyclable, however, the RIC was originally developed and continues to be solely dedicated to identifying resin content, rather than a product's recyclability. For many consumers, the chasing arrows symbol denotes recyclability, which, in some cases, is not true, depending on the resin and any given community's recycling collection program. Originally developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry, the RIC system was handed over to ASTM International in 2008. In response to a strong plea from municipal recyclers and other recycling organizations that interact with the general public, the ASTM International Subcommittee D20.95 on Recycled Plastics (part of Committee D20 on Plastics) developed a new RIC via ASTM D7611, Standard Practice for Coding Plastic Manufactured Articles for Resin Identification. The new RICs are surrounded by an equilateral triangle instead of the chasing arrows. ASTM D7611 will help eliminate consumer confusion and highlight the need for further education about what is and what isn't recyclable, which is largely dictated by local waste haulers. By implementing this new symbol, D7611 aims to bring focus back to the system's core mission: resin identification and quality control prior to recycling. There will be a transitional period in switching to the triangle; the new symbol is only required on new items. Molds already in place won't have to be changed right now. The current ASTM D7611 gives codes for the six most commonly found resin types: 1) PET, which it identifies as "PETE"; 2) high density polyethylene (HDPE); 3) PVC (V); 4) low density PE (LDPE); 5) polypropylene (PP); 6) polystyrene (PS). All other resins, including materials made with more than one type of resin from categories 1-6, are marked with a No. 7. n