America Recycles Day came and went without much fanfare this year. Yet it is still a powerful reminder to us not only how far recycling has come since it became a mainstream practice in the 1970s, but also that it still faces significant challenges.
Recycling is at a crossroads as commodities’ prices are down and processing costs are up. These economics have prompted critics to question the validity of recycling and its future. Yet this comes at a time when we have come to realize that the earth holds a dwindling supply of natural resources to manufacture products, and without recycling and other efforts to preserve those resources that supply may decline more quickly.