Northeastern Saskatchewan’s recycling success story began another chapter with the official grand re-opening of the Tisdale SARCAN depot on Tuesday, Oct. 14, [1997].
Dignitaries representing the Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres (SARC), SARCAN (the recycling division of SARC), Nipawin Handi-Works, and provincial and local government attended the afternoon ceremonies. The new SARCAN depot in Tisdale is located in the former Carry’s Food Mart on the north end of 100th Street in Tisdale.
Hugh MacDonald, manager of Nipawin Handi-Works and SARCAN in Tisdale, acted as master of ceremonies for the event. With the aid of Carrot River MLA Andy Renaud and Tisdale mayor Rolly Zimmer, Sandra Pratt, President of the Nipawin Handi-Works Board of Directors, cut the ribbon to officially declare the new facility open.
SARCAN has almost a decade of history of recycling in Tisdale and during that period, a total of 7,015,214 containers with a combined weight of 954,582 have been brought to the Tisdale depot for recycling. Total refunds over that same period have amounted to $768,288.
Increased volume soon dictated the relocation of the SARCAN depot to larger premises and the depot moved to the former Lohr building. SARCAN operated from there until major restoration of the building became necessary. In June of 1996, SARCAN moved to its current location.
“While the new building is smaller it does require us to operate in a different manner. Containers are processed and loaded for shipment as quickly as possible,” Pratt stated. “The new building’s location also affords us a more visible presence in the community.”
Speaking on behalf of the Town of Tisdale, Zimmer commented on the asset the SARCAN depot is to the community. The Town, which recently acquired more space for its landfill, has been able to save expansion on the landfill due to the presence of SARCAN in the community.
Renaud spoke briefly on behalf of Lorne Scott, Minister of Environment and Resource Management. According to Renaud, SARCAN operates more than 70 collection centres in Saskatchewan, employing over 300 people. In 1996, over 171 million used beverage containers were collected in SARCAN recycling centres in the province, diverting over 22 million pounds of waste from landfills.
“Beverage container littering has almost been eliminated in Saskatchewan, largely due to one of the highest return rates in . North America,” Renaud remarked, adding Saskatchewan has a 92 per cent return rate on plastic beverage containers.
The benefits of SARCAN to the community and the province include a cleaner environment, employment opportunities, and turning waste into profit.
“Tisdale and the surrounding district is part of this productive partnership,” Renaud concluded.
Dale Bolting, Executive Director of SARC, commented on the impressive statistics being turned out by the Tisdale depot since it began operations in 1988.
“Volume has increased by two and a half times which is quite impressive in terms of growth,” he remarked. “Close to one million pounds have been diverted from your landfill.”
The greatest achievement for both SARC and SARCAN comes in the form of the people it employs, according to Bolting. 80 per cent of SARCAN employees were previously unemployed or on social assistance, he said.
“We’ve brought real work for real pay bringing futures for these people. We’re particularly proud of that achievement.”
Ken Homenick, SARCAN's Director of Operations & Corporate Affairs, termed the ribbon cutting ceremony as the frosting on the cake.
“This is a model depot,” he commented. “We would like to replicate it in other depots in the province. It's the latest in container handling.”
While recognizing the importance the commitments made by Handi-Works and the community of Tisdale have made in the success of the SARCAN depot, Homenick also commented on the future of the recycling centre. According to Homenick, the future potential of SARCAN collecting plastic milk juts is the issue that comes up in discussion most often. While he would have liked to make an announcement during the ribbon cutting, he admitted SARCAN is still working on resolving that issue.
He also commented on the juice box recycling pilot project to test the number of voluntary returns of juice box containers in the province.
“It's been slow but it's in its infancy,” he stated. “The biggest part of the equation is the school program.”
“I see a bright future for SARCAN," Homenick said. “We’re proud of what we have achieved but we won’t rest on our laurels." Schools or teachers interested in receiving information on the juice box recycling program may contact the local SARCAN depot for in information.
