Officials hope the campaign will raise recycling rates, which declined through the last decade.
Just one in five people recycles, said Donna M. Stusek, deputy chief of the Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
"We know we can do better," said Stusek, who was among a group that stopped in Cleveland yesterday to announce the campaign. "We're just getting lazy."
The campaign, "It's good for the bottle. It's good for the can," is aimed primarily at people ages 18 to 32, who Stusek said studies show have little interest in recycling.
State officials also hope to encourage people to raise awareness of products made from recycled goods, such as aluminum cans, glass bottles and paper cartons and trays.
Recycling is the third-largest industry in Ohio, accounting for 168,000 jobs and $650 million in taxes.
Industrial, commercial and residential sources recycled about 14 million tons of material last year. Steel accounted for more than three-quarters of the total.
This is the first statewide campaign in 12 years. State officials said they hope it will go on for several years.
But the campaign is not a big, lavish production. Ohio bought the slogan and the television and radio spots for $4,800 from California, which aired them two years ago. – (Cleveland) Plain Dealer