A Look at the History of Earth Day & How You Can Make A Difference at Our Recycling Event!

Each year in late April, as a community and a nation, we celebrate Earth Day. There’s often a lot of social media content around how beautiful our planet is and how important it is to create and maintain sustainable practices in our lives. Yet, as Earth Day rolls around each year, do you know the origins of this environmental celebration?

In 1969, Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, had been concerned with the deteriorating environment in the United States. Jarred by the Santa Barabara oil spill, which was the largest oil spill in the U.S. at that time and is still the largest oil spill off the coast of California, Nelson wanted to take action. He was inspired by the anti-war movement taking place in universities across the country and decided to organize ‘teach-ins’ on college campuses that would promote public consciousness about air and water pollution.

Senator Nelson recruited a young activist named Denis Hayes to lead the teach-ins and scale the idea to the broader public. They decided to hold the event on April 22^nd, a weekday between Spring Break and Final Exams, with the idea that the largest number of students would be on campus and able to participate. In 1970, they changed the name to Earth Day, built a staff of 85 individuals, and the efforts broadened to include events across the country.

Earth Day supports environmental causes that are important to all of us and sees an alignment across industries, economic status, urban versus rural, age, and more. Earth Day is about promoting the well-being of our planet, protecting our environment from toxic dumps, oil spills, harmful chemicals, the extinction of wildlife, and so much more.

By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act.

Since 2009, our Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce has found it important to continue supporting green initiatives, including Earth Day, each year. Sustainable practices, including recycling, are an important way to protect our planet from harmful and wasteful impacts. Our Going Green Task Force coordinates the Earth Day Recycling Event each year to be held on, or as close as possible to, Earth Day. This year’s event is scheduled for Friday, April 25^th from 1:00-4:00 PM at the Chamber Office located at 3605 Marietta Hwy, Canton.

The Chamber will once again welcome the public to come for free and drop off items in the following categories to be recycled: electronics, aluminum cans, paper shredding, car seats, athletic shoes, and gardening containers. Thank you to our Event Partner, Cobb EMC, and Supporting Sponsor, Electrify EVSE.

For a full list of accepted items, frequently asked questions, and a list of nominal charges for select electronics, please visit https://cherokeechamber.com/programs-events/chamber-calendar/.