Celebrate America Recycles Day, Nov. 15

Did you know the average American creates 4.6 pounds of trash a day? Each of us makes decisions on a daily basis that affect our ability to reduce our environmental impact.

But even small changes can make a big difference. In an effort to educate and encourage Kellogg employees and retirees to reduce the amount of waste they generate, the GoGreen team is kicking off a week of activities in advance of America Recycles Day on Sunday, Nov. 15.

America Recycles Day examines ways we can all be environmentally responsible at home, at work and within the community.

In addition to participating in upcoming GoGreen activities, there are many other ways to get involved. We can all help shrink the amount of waste we produce by reducing, reusing and recycling everyday products. Here are just a few tips on how you can help make a difference; striving to take even one step each day will make an impact:

• Use reusable coffee mugs
• Use cloth napkins
• Purchase products that have less packaging and wrapping
• Recycle items around the home and office including plastic, paper, glass and metal
• Visit Earth911.com to find locations near you that recycle paper, metal, hazardous waste, plastic, glass, electronics, automotive and household products
• Conserve paper by using both sides; use old newspaper as liners for pet cages or to wrap presents
• Help protect the earth and your identity by opting for paperless billing
• You can also help cut down on the amount of junk mail you receive by visiting DMAChoice.org or OptOutPreScreen.com to cut down on pre-approved credit card applications and CatalogChoice.org to opt out of catalog mailings
• Buy a water filter rather than purchasing bottled water
• Say no to plastic or paper bags at the store; instead, bring your own reusable shopping bags

How Kellogg employees around the world are making a difference

More details Events for America Recycles Week, including a viewing of the film Michigreen, a Lunch & Learn session and recycling fair, will be scheduled at Headquarters, Porter Street and WKKI Nov. 9 through Nov.13. Be sure to check monitors and e-mail for updates.

As a company, we continue to make strides in achieving our commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our business in four key areas: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste.

As an example of the strides we've made to date, Latin America's GoGreen team recently launched its "Go Paperless" campaign in March at the Querétaro office. In just two months the program succeeded in reducing paper use by 59 percent! This was achieved by requiring paper to be used on both sides before recycling and tracking monthly use by area, among other measures.

Earlier this year, our Memphis plant found themselves with more than 460,000 blank white cereal boxes and nearly 30,000 unmarked cardboard cases. In an effort to prevent waste, Kellogg employees worked to find an organization that would be able to use them. Ultimately, Feeding America accepted the materials and used them for repacking bulk food for delivery to needy families.

In addition, the Kellogg Canada corporate office is on its way to reaching its goal of "Zero Waste to Landfill" through  a comprehensive program that consists of recycling bins for paper, corrugate, glass, metal and plastic, plus confidential bins for paper and compost bins for leftover food. In less than six months, the office has gone from diverting 63 percent of waste to landfills to 86 percent as of September. What started as a grassroots movement, quickly became a cause that employees are passionate about.

While these are just several examples of the many ways Kellogg employees are working together to make an impact, we can all do our individual part to make our homes, communities and workplace a little bit greener.