The poem describes Mrs. Cole giving various recycled items to someone over the course of 12 days, with each day corresponding to a line in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas." On each successive day, Mrs. Cole provides an increasing number of recycled items, including magazines, plastic bags, paper cups, bottle caps, pop cans, paper napkins, cardboard boxes, empty milk jugs, piles of paper, food containers, plastic bottles, and plastic containers.

1. The 12 Days of RecyclingByStuart

2. On the 1st day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – a whole mass of magazines

3. On the 2nd day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 2 plastic bags

4. On the 3rd day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me -3 paper cups

5. On the 4th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 4 bottle caps

6. On the 5th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 5 pop cans.

7. On the 6th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 6 paper napkins

8. On the 7th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 7 cardboard boxes

9. On the 8th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 8 empty milk jugs

10. On the 9th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 9 piles of paper

11. On the 10th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 10 food containers

12. On the 11th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 11 plastic bottles

13. On the 12th day of recycling, Mrs. Cole gave to me – 12 plastic containers