ESTEVAN — SARCAN Recycling celebrated the grand opening of its new Estevan depot July 8.
Representatives of SARCAN and the Ministry of Environment joined the community to mark the milestone for the new building, located at 516 Bourquin Road. The depot officially opened June 30; Its previous home was on Sixth Street.
“Very excited to be at the grand opening of SARCAN in Estevan," said Saskatchewan Environment Minister Travis Keisig. “This facility is more than just recycling. SARCAN gives opportunities to individuals who traditionally have not had them, giving them the confidence to become strong community ambassadors, more than just for the city of Estevan, but for communities and villages across Saskatchewan.”
The Estevan SARCAN depot, operated in partnership with Estevan Diversified Services, currently employs 10 individuals, many of whom have been with the organization for several years. One employee, Gary Price, has been with SARCAN for over 35 years.
Estevan Diversified Services executive director Trisha Salmers shared the impact of their commitment to providing meaningful job opportunities for individuals facing employment barriers.
“This has helped many people gain not only wages and benefits, but also skills, confidence and a greater sense of belonging in the community," she said.
SARCAN’s impact in the community goes beyond these employment opportunities. In their last year, the team at the Estevan SARCAN depot served over 30,000 customers – counting, sorting, flattening and processing over 8.8 million beverage containers that those customers returned. “We live in a beautiful province and Saskatchewan citizens demonstrate their love of the land, pride in our province and collective responsibility each time they choose to recycle," said Amy McNeil, SARC and SARCAN Recycling’s executive director.
She also spoke about the wider impact of the SARCAN system.
“Nationally … we collaborate with other provincial recycling programs and other beverage container programs to share knowledge and expertise, allowing us to further refine and enhance our systems. On the global scale, with a recovery rate of 83%, the SARCAN system here in Saskatchewan stacks up with some of the best deposit refund systems in the world. These are things that I think we should all celebrate.”
The provincial recycler is continually working towards further improvements to the system; more convenient recycling options; better facilities; and an even more sustainable Saskatchewan. An example of this work is their recent partnership with SK Recycles – the not-for-profit organization responsible for management and recycling of household packaging and paper, distributed to Saskatchewan residents by businesses – to become the official collection partner for flexible plastic packaging, foam packaging and non-deposit glass bottles and jars, helping to prevent even more valuable materials from ending up in the landfills.
To close out the event, Keisig, McNeil, Salmers, depot supervisor Connie Hagel, and local community leaders took part in a ceremonial ribbon cutting and offered attendees refreshments and tours of the space.
SARCAN’s new location adds over 2,500 square feet, including a larger reception area, automatic doors, and two additional chutes to speed up service. The drop and go service – which allows customers to skip the line – has also been enhanced with two sign-in kiosks and expanded drop-off areas.
Through its 2024-25 reporting year, SARCAN diverted over 43 million pounds of materials from entering the environment, instead sending it to downstream markets where it can be transformed into new products, supporting circular manufacturing practices which conserve energy, natural resources, and reduce emissions.
