Clearer Recycling
Practical guidance helps the public understand what belongs in recycling and what should be kept out.
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Fall 2026 · Orlando, Florida
The Re-Leaf Project
Making sustainable recycling practices clear, practical, and visible.
Project Article
Give Earth a Smile partnered with Terracare to create The Re-Leaf Project, a recycling awareness campaign designed to make sustainable recycling practices easier for the public to understand and apply.
Recycling can become confusing when rules differ between communities or when packaging contains mixed materials. Items placed in the wrong bin can contaminate recyclable material, so clear education is an important part of making recycling systems work effectively.
The campaign responds with weekly social media posts that explain what to recycle, what not to recycle, and why correct sorting matters. Repeated digital outreach gives the public practical information that can be shared and revisited.
The project also creates recycling facts campaign cards as tangible educational reminders. More than 100 cards have been made and distributed, extending the campaign beyond social media and into everyday community spaces.
Each card is made from 100% recycled paper derived from waste leftover sawmill wood chips. No new trees are harvested in the card-making process, allowing the campaign materials to demonstrate the responsible practices they promote.
Together, Give Earth a Smile and Terracare combined education, responsible production, and community outreach. The result is a campaign that encourages better recycling decisions while showing how thoughtful material choices can reduce environmental impact.
Project Objective
Build public understanding of sustainable recycling through recurring digital education and low-impact campaign cards that clearly explain what can and cannot be recycled.
Challenges and Opportunities
- Recycling rules and packaging labels can be confusing.
- Incorrectly sorted items can contaminate recyclable materials.
- Online information may disappear quickly from public attention.
- Printed awareness materials can create waste when made from virgin paper.
- Recurring education can turn uncertainty into more responsible everyday habits.
Project Solution
- ✓Publish one educational social media post every week.
- ✓Explain common recyclable and non-recyclable items in clear language.
- ✓Create physical recycling facts cards as lasting reminders.
- ✓Use paper made entirely from recycled sawmill wood-chip waste.
- ✓Distribute cards through community outreach with Terracare.
- ✓Use audience questions to guide future educational topics.
Project Benefits
Ongoing Education
Weekly posts keep sustainable recycling visible instead of limiting awareness to a one-time campaign.
Responsible Materials
Campaign cards use 100% recycled paper made from leftover sawmill wood chips.
Broader Outreach
More than 100 distributed cards bring useful recycling information into community spaces.
Why It Matters
Recycling succeeds when people have clear information and materials are designed with their full life cycle in mind. The Re-Leaf Project teaches both principles through its message and its own production choices.
Project Process
Implementation Phases
01
Research and Planning
Identify common recycling questions and misconceptions, research clear guidance, and plan the weekly publishing schedule.
02
Content and Card Design
Turn accurate recycling guidance into concise social media posts and practical recycling facts campaign cards.
03
Responsible Production
Produce cards from 100% recycled paper derived from leftover sawmill wood chips without harvesting new trees.
04
Education and Distribution
Publish educational content weekly, distribute campaign cards, and use public questions to shape future topics.
Progress
What the Project Has Achieved
01
More than 100 recycling facts cards have been made and distributed.
02
All campaign cards are made from 100% recycled paper.
03
The recycled paper is derived from waste leftover sawmill wood chips.
04
No new trees are harvested to produce the campaign cards.
05
Weekly social media posts provide ongoing public recycling education.
06
The campaign explains both what to recycle and what not to recycle.
07
Give Earth a Smile collaborated with Terracare on the campaign.
Global Goals
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 12
Responsible Consumption and Production
Helping people sort waste responsibly while demonstrating circular material use through 100% recycled campaign cards.
Goal 13
Climate Action
Encouraging sustainable habits that conserve resources and reduce the environmental costs associated with waste.
Goal 15
Life on Land
Avoiding the harvest of new trees for campaign materials and promoting more thoughtful use of natural resources.
Goal 17
Partnerships for the Goals
Working with Terracare to extend practical recycling education through shared outreach and campaign materials.
Campaign Materials
The Re-Leaf Project Gallery
Campaign Gallery
The Re-Leaf Project
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