Many people have flags that are worn out and used, but they just don’t know what to do with them. A government approved way to dispose of the flag is to have it burned at an American Legion, Veterans group or boyscout group. If you know how the ceremony goes you can burn it yourself. Another way that is not as well known is to recycle the flag so that new one’s can be made from the old.

Back when burning a worn out flag was approved, flags were made of Cotton, today they are made of nylon that can harm the environment when burned. Nylon is also a petroleum product, so not only are we harming the environment, but we are increasing our dependency on foreign oil because we need the oil to make more flags. If we recycle used flags we cut down on this need for oil and reduce the demand for it.

Recycling flags is easy, again you contact the same groups as you would if you wanted to burn the flag, but you have to mark your flag’s header with the word RECYCLE. I would call ahead to the group of your choice and make sure that they are involved in the recycling part of this program. Many are still not. You can also check with your local recycling company to find out if they are involved in this.

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