A Beverage Container Recycling Leader

August 1, 2017

The Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) recently announced that in 2016 it achieved a 70% recovery rate of empty beverage containers sold in Manitoba, Canada. This allows the Province to now boast the continent’s fastest, continuously-growing beverage container recovery rate. Manitoba’s unique beverage container recycling model is quickly making a mark on the recycling landscape in Canada.

Reclay StewardEdge (RSE) has a full service management contract to operate CBCRA and all of its programs, and has been involved from the 2009 inception, design and 2010 implementation of CBCRA to its current phase.

Recycling in Manitoba

Manitoba’s recovery of PPP (Packaging and Printed Paper) is based on a comprehensive recycling system that includes a broad range of materials – not only beverage containers. Consumers in Manitoba can recycle their beverage containers at home in the Blue Box, or out and about through Recycle Everywhere’s very extensive public space recycling program.

CBCRA, whose membership consists of beverage brand owners and distributors, is committed to reaching the government-mandated target of recovering 75% of beverage containers sold in Manitoba. To do this 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. 

The Manitoba program is different from others across Canada, as it is the only place you can find a province-wide public space beverage container recycling program with very extensive Promotion and Education outreach. From one corner of the province to another, Recycle Everywhere has partnered with communities, municipalities, schools, businesses, institutions, parks, festivals and events to provide them with the best Recycle Everywhere bin for their space free of charge. Partners simply arrange for the collection of the recovered beverage containers with a recycler.

Success to Date

CBCRA has successfully increased the recovery rate from 42% in 2010 to 70% by the end of 2016, which is the largest increase from 2010-2016 of any jurisdiction in North America. Remarkable on its own, the 70% recovery rate is in some ways simply a marker for a much larger and lasting impact that CBCRA and Recycle Everywhere are having in Manitoba. With over 55,000 Recycle Everywhere bins distributed for free to public spaces across the province, more Manitobans have access to beverage container recycling at work, home, and at play than ever before.

This high level of access, combined with Recycle Everywhere’s province-wide education programming has helped Manitobans make the right decision of recycling their empty beverage containers rather than throwing them in the garbage. The innovative awareness campaigns engage Manitobans, educating them about what beverage containers can become when recycled, why recycling is important, and how to do it. Annual third-party research has shown that these campaigns have a clear and positive impact on recycling attitudes and behaviours that go much beyond simply recycling beverage containers, but also impacts how consumers think about recycling all kinds of products and packaging.

That education and thinking begins in schools and over 97% of students have access to recycling in primary and secondary schools because of Recycle Everywhere’s school program – no other province has this kind of extensive province-wide program. Students bring this message home to parents, and eventually grow up and become parents – whole generations change the way they think about our resources.

What is more, is that the litter rate in major Manitoba centres has gone down dramatically. How dramatically? The litter rate has decreased by 54% - 78% in several major city centres. Recycling is no longer just the “right thing to do”, it leaves cityscapes and streets cleaner making citizens proud of their communities and neighbourhoods.

By Arielle Gurevich

Ms. Gurevich is the Communications Manager for CBCRA/Recycle Everywhere. Founded in 2010, the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) is a not-for-profit, industry-funded organization whose membership includes beverage brand owners and distributors. CBCRA is committed to reaching the government-mandated target of recovering 75% of beverage containers sold in Manitoba.

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.