The Postal Service will release a stamp Saturday, April 18, to celebrate Earth Day, which will mark its 50th anniversary next week.
Earth Day, held each year on April 22, was first celebrated in 1970, when U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin inspired thousands of people to organize against pollution following a major oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA.
Earth Day became an annual tradition that now brings people from around the world together to highlight the importance of recycling, renewable resources, sustainability and other efforts to protect the planet.
The Postal Service is committed to reducing its environmental impact and recycles almost 300,000 tons of materials each year through its recycling and waste prevention programs.
In addition, lean green teams throughout the organization identify and implement ways to reduce energy, water usage, vehicle petroleum fuel use and more.
Antonio Alcalá, a USPS art director, designed the Earth Day stamp, which features a watercolor painting of the planet and hand-lettered text. Ricky Altizer was the typographer.
The stamp dedication ceremony was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The stamp is available in booklets of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com.