National Recycling Week – Nov. 9, 2026

Expected National Recycling Week Deals

As a key environmental awareness initiative, National Recycling Week focuses less on commercial deals and more on educational programs and community engagement. However, many Australian retailers and organizations participate by offering incentives for sustainable practices. Look for local councils hosting free recycling drop-off events for hard-to-recycle items, or retailers like Woolworths and Coles promoting their in-store soft plastic and battery recycling points. Brands such as TerraCycle often partner with schools and businesses to collect specific waste streams for recycling, while sustainable product companies might offer discounts on reusable items. Non-profits like Planet Ark and Keep Australia Beautiful will share resources, host workshops, and encourage donations to support their ongoing environmental efforts. We encourage everyone to check their local council websites and favorite sustainable brands for specific initiatives during the week.

History of National Recycling Week

Many environmentally aware Americans believe that recycling is a product of the 1970s environmental movement, the period that birthed the first Earth Day and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Ban the Can,” the earliest post-World War II mass recycling campaign in the U. S., was created and implemented by Ruth ‘Pat’ Webb in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1970. Webb enlisted the help of military and citizen volunteers to collect more than 9 tons of metal cans from Oahu’s streets and highways. Afterward, the metal cans were recycled as steel reinforcing bars, which were then reused in local construction projects.

But, while that period was a watershed moment in the history of the concept, recycling in America dates back far further. Indeed, according to some experts, it operated better before the 1970s than it does now.

During the Great Depression, there was still a need to reuse. Manufacturers promoted their products based on their dual-purpose capabilities. Families made garments out of flour sacks and used biscuit canisters as lunch boxes.

During WWII, Americans were notably urged to gather scrap metal, paper, and even culinary waste—though many experts today believe that these things were mostly stacked up unused and that these initiatives were propaganda tactics to get students interested in the war and obtain support.

It wasn’t that recycling was invented in the 1960s and 1970s; rather, the motivations behind it evolved. Americans began recycling to deal with the vast volumes of rubbish produced during the second part of the 1900s, rather than to get the most out of the resources.

How Businesses Can Celebrate National Recycling Week