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Take the Pledge to vote with recycling in mind

I am a Texas voter who cares about recycling and I want to vote for people who will do more so we waste less. I pledge to vote in 2012 and use it as my voice to make recycling easy for Texans at home, at work and at play.

Yes! Send me an alert as election day approaches and I will remember to vote with recycling in mind!

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Why the Pledge?

We need to make sure elected officials understand that the need for a clean environment and a healthy place to live, work, and play is vital. This includes the 3 R’s – reduce, reuse and convenient recycling, of course.

Why now?

In 2012 it’s crucial that people who support recycling get involved. So, make sure you are registered to vote at your current address and voting – in the primaries and the general election in November. Take this opportunity to ask the candidates what they will do to boost the 3 R’s in Texas!

What can be done at the national, state and local levels?

A new report showed that if the U.S. recycling rate jumped to 75% - which has already been met in some communities – that 1.5 million new jobs would be created. Pollution-wise, it would be like taking 72 coal plants or 50 million cars off the roads.

Congress has yet to pass legislation to boost safe electronics recycling in the U.S. by stopping the export of electronic waste to crude scrap operations in developing countries.

Here in Texas, when the budget cuts were made in 2011, the dedicated funds for recycling and waste prevention were cut in half and diverted to other priorities – and funding was already only half of what it should have been. The Texas environmental agency doesn’t even keep track of what recycling is going on in Texas, let alone do much to promote it. If Arkansas can keep track of recycling, surely Texas can.

The action has been at the local level. Aside from Houston, most major cities and some smaller ones, have city-wide curbside recycling. But it’s rare that people living in condos or apartments complexes have convenient recycling. It’s even harder to find comprehensive recycling in the places where we work.

How can I help?

Take the Pledge and encourage others – friends, family and neighbors in person or on Facebook – to take it also!



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