America Recycles Day, Keep America Beautiful’s nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling, is November 15 this year. Living in Fairfax County, where we have curbside recycling, it is easy to assume that the U.S. is a leader in recycling. In fact, the U.S. falls behind many other nations, with Americans recycling only 34 percent of all the waste they create, according to a 2013 report from the EPA.

Planet Aid shows here how we compare to other industrialized nations:

Many other countries have developed more successful recycling programs, with Austria at 63% and Germany at 62%, as the world’s leaders.

So, in honor of America Recycles Day, this blog will be highlighting some recycling opportunities in the next few weeks. We definitely have some room for improvement as a nation— and individually.