Wake County is launching its annual, monthlong bingo game tomorrow, Nov. 1, in celebration of America Recycles Day. This year, the focus of the game is to help residents learn about recycling in every room of the house.

“While we often focus on recycling our kitchen products, we neglect to put so many other household items that could be diverted from the landfill in our recycling bins,” said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. “This year, we want to use the America Recycles Day Bingo game to encourage residents to consider recycling products from all rooms in their homes.”

America Recycles Day occurs annually on Nov. 15. Since 2018, Wake County has hosted its annual bingo game throughout the month of November to help residents learn about recycling best practices. In previous years, the bingo game featured activities such as viewing educational videos and online resources. This year’s activities will focus solely on recycling items from the bathroom, kitchen, garage, home office and laundry room. Wake County residents only need to download their bingo game card from wake.gov/ardbingo, recycle five items in a row to get bingo and submit the completed card via email by Nov. 30.

Everyone who submits a completed bingo card will receive a reusable stainless-steel straw with a cleaning brush and pouch and a reusable, fold-up bag. Millions of single-use plastic bags and disposable plastic straws, which often pollute waterways and animal habitats, are thrown away daily. In addition to the reusable straw and bag, two winners will also be randomly selected to win a rocking chair made of recycled high-density polyethylene, the same plastic as milk jugs. Only Wake County residents are eligible to win the grand prize. Winners must claim the chair in person and are responsible for assembly of their chair.

This year, Wake County will also be partnering with the Town of Cary for Harvest Fest on Nov. 16, from noon–4 p.m. at Good Hope Farm. Harvest Fest offers live music, farm tours, children’s activities, local food and more for families to enjoy. The county’s Waste and Recycling Division will be promoting bathroom recycling at this year’s event, so residents can drop by the Recycling Education Booth to receive a free bathroom recycling bin and decal. Staff experts from Wake County and the Town of Cary will be on site to chat about recycling, composting and our shared commitment to sustainability through waste diversion. Learn more about Harvest Fest at carync.gov/harvestfest.

Wake County residents are also encouraged to take the pledge to reduce waste, recycle more and purchase recyclable goods. Just last year, the South Wake Landfill took in over 500,000 tons of garbage and Wake County’s waste and recycling facilities recycled over 43,800 tons of materials. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 75% of the waste produced in the U.S. is recyclable, yet nationally only a little more than 30% of waste is recycled.

Wake County offers 11 convenience centers for residents to drop off recyclables and trash. Improper recycling, or contamination, costs more money, delays the process of sorting mixed recycling and can even damage recycling facility machinery and endanger staff. The county is required to pay a fee to its recycling processor if the contamination rate exceeds 10%. The current contamination rate in Wake County is 10%.

Visit Wake County’s Waste and Recycling page to learn more about the various recycling resources available near you.