EAST ALTON, IL – The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) will celebrate America Recycles Day with an interactive Neighbor Nights, providing information about recycling and composting.

America Recycles Day was formed in 1997 in an effort to raise awareness about recycling and the purchasing of recycled products.

November’s Neighbor Nights at NGRREC event will feature different stations, covering what can and cannot be recycled curbside in Madison County. Those attending will learn how long items take to decompose, as well as how different compost systems work.

The event will be self-guided so participants can come and go as they please.

Environmental Educator Jen Young hopes the event will help address the confusion surrounding recycling and remove some of the guesswork.

“Recycling is a great way to conserve our valuable natural resources and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills,” Young said. “The recycling rate has increased from less than 7 percent in 1960 to the current rate of 32 percent, but we can do better!”

Neighbor Nights will take place at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the NGRREC Field Station.

In accordance with Illinois State mandate, all visitors to the Field Station are required to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines, regardless of vaccination status.

For more information, contact Director of Environmental Education Sarah Fisher at (618) 468-2900 or safisher@lc.edu.

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠)

Founded in 2002 as a collaborative partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis and Clark Community College, The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center is dedicated to the study of great river systems and the communities that use them. The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education, and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds and their associated communities.