#ThrowbackThursday: Recycling has always been cool

By Kirsten Miller, 1-800-RECYCLE Hotline program staff

When the late '70s marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement, Washington was at the forefront. We recently found some old public service announcements (PSAs) from this time and the following decades that illustrate that perfectly.

PSAs on VHS tapes from the '70s, '80s and '90s

While sorting through our archives a few months ago, we dug up a few old VHS tapes labeled “Recycling PSAs” dating from the late '70s to the early '90s.

With much curiosity, we popped them into a VCR (yes, they do still exist) in hopes to bring some catchy outreach material back to life. What we found was a treasure trove of fun, eclectic and sometimes simply strange commercials aimed at getting Washingtonians to recycle.

Quirky clowns and Seattle SuperSonics help Ecology recycle 

These videos from decades past portrayed Washington as the land of green forests, flowing rivers and shimmering lakes. They even threw in some quirky clips of clowns recycling. Why? Because, it was the '80s!

Although some of the videos’ quality has degraded, the message is still clear: Washington is all about the great outdoors, so keep it clean and litter-free.

The (slightly) more current videos from the '90s have a fresh, funky new look with the message that recycling is “cool.” One video even has a guest appearance from Ricky Pierce of the Seattle SuperSonics, telling viewers not to litter.

This week's #throwbackthursday is just in time for the kickoff to the #NBA playoffs! This anti-litter program from the early 90s features Ricky Pierce of the Seattle Supersonics. "Sometimes you miss - just make a second effort - don't littler!" #rickypierce #sonics #supersonics #NBAplayoffs #recycle
Posted by Ecology's 1-800 Recycle Hotline on Thursday, 4 June 2015

History makes a comeback with #ThrowbackThursday

Make sure to catch these “throwback” videos every Thursday in the next few months on the 1-800-RECYCLE Facebook page. We’ll also be posting them to our Instagram, Vine and Twitter accounts with the hashtag #ThrowbackThursday.

1-800-RECYCLE Hotline

The 1-800-RECYCLE hotline was started in 1976 as a program to help educate people in Washington on where and how to recycle in their neighborhood. We have a hotline that is staffed weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. by one of our helpful recycling experts. Feel free to give us a call if you have questions about recycling near you.

For information you can visit the 1-800-RECYCLE Facebook page or check out the 1-800-RECYCLE online database.