Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
71 per cent of all beverage containers; 79 per cent of PET plastic bottles recovered
WINNIPEG, MB July 22, 2021 – Recycle Everywhere recently completed its annual recovery rate audit and is pleased to announce that in 2020, 71 per cent of all empty beverage containers and 79 per cent of all PET plastic beverage containers sold in the province were recovered.
“Congratulations go out to Manitobans and Recycle Everywhere as we reach this new recycling milestone,” said Sarah Guillemard, Minister of Conservation and Climate. “We are now only four percentage points away from achieving the government-mandated goal of recovering 75 per cent of all empty beverage containers sold in Manitoba. Every container counts. I encourage all Manitobans to ‘help close the loop’ by recycling even more.”
In 2019, the recovery rate for all empty beverage containers and PET plastic beverage containers was 68 per cent and 77 per cent respectively. Year over year, Manitoba’s PET recovery rate is consistently among the highest in Canada.
“Manitobans should be proud of achieving one of the highest PET recovery rates in Canada,” says Ken Friesen, Executive Director of Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) and the organization that runs Recycle Everywhere. “By putting your empty beverage containers into blue bins you are not only diverting waste, but also extending their lifecycle by enabling the materials to come back as new containers or other products.”
Recycle Everywhere has introduced new initiatives to help move the needle as recycling efforts inch closer to the government mandate. An incentive program and mobile app were recently launched in an effort to give back to Manitobans. The program encourages good recycling habits and offers cash and prizes of up to $25,000. To that end, recently Cynthia Beck received $25,000, the semi-annual grand prize, for recycling her empty beverage container at a Recycle Everywhere bin in Winnipeg. Photo attached.
The organization also launched a campaign that asks Manitobans to Help Close the Loop – a concept inspired by looking at how recycling plastic fits into the circular economy.
“When it comes to PET plastic bottles, we are focused on seeing the bottles recycled many times, over and over again,” Friesen adds. “That’s the circular economy, which is central to our philosophy and what we need to do in Manitoba to get to 75 per cent.”
The Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) is a not-for-profit, industry-funded organization whose membership includes beverage brand owners and distributors. CBCRA implemented and operates the Recycle Everywhere program. Recycle Everywhere strives to educate Manitobans on beverage container recycling and ensure that it is convenient to recycle empty beverage containers no matter where citizens live, work or play. CBCRA is committed to reaching the government-mandated target of recovering 75% of beverage containers sold in Manitoba. Learn more at recycleeverywhere.ca and cbcra-acrcb.org.
Contact: Sheri Moerkerk, Marketing & Communications Manager, CBCRA/Recycle Everywhere
T: 204.942.2284 x4 C: 204.801-1434 E: smoerkerk@cbcra-acrcb.org
