November 26, 2008
Recycling could bottle 100k for SAITSA
Nine months after pledging to develop a bottle recycling program, SAIT Students’ Association president David Jones announced SAIT’s campus will soon be littered with dozens of green recycling bins by Christmas.
The Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC) provided SAITSA with an initial 50 bins free of charge as part of the ABCRC’s Community Champions Program.
“I’m not out to try to save the world,” said Jones. “What I’m really trying to do is help reduce SAIT’s footprint on the environment.” With 15,500 people walking through campus daily, it adds up to a lot of footprints.
Tracking the number of recyclable products sold on campus, Jones calculates SAIT guzzles its way through 6,000 to 7,000 recyclable beverage containers daily. Multiply this by the mandatory five cent recycling deposit and it equals over $100,000 of untapped cash.
Jones is in discussions with SAIT to see that all revenues generated will be invested into SAITSA, which would be allocated to an environmental initiatives fund.
“Out of this fund, we’re going to be able to fund more recycle bins, recycling other materials such as cardboard, plastics and compost material.”
Jones is looking at off campus charity groups like ChildFind and Scouts Canada to collect the bottles. The chosen group would receive a portion of the revenue.
SAITSA would then receive a charitable donation tax receipt.
“If we had the student manpower (SAITSA) would get 100 per cent of the funds,” said Jones. “As it stands right now, the volunteerism is a little low.
Jones looked at other schools’ recycling efforts across the country over the summer to gauge where SAIT was at in terms of its recycling efforts.
“We’re trailing behind where we should be, but I think we’re going to set a new standard with the implementation of new programs in the years to come.”
The program will undergo a review after a few years of operation to evaluate its effectiveness. In order to keep it effective, it will have to be constantly updated and upgraded, said Jones.
Sodexho staff currently collects the bottles and cans, but they are under no contractual obligation to do so, said SAIT maintenance manager, Ron Levangie. “Any money they make, they give to the staff in the form of food vouchers or something like that, and it doesn’t go to the company.”
http://www.theweal.com/?/news/story/recycling_could_bottle_100k_for_saitsa/
