Ask anyone in Saskatchewan to point you in the direction of the nearest SARCAN recycling depot, and chances are, you’ll get an enthusiastic response.
“I think Saskatchewan people are avid recyclers. I think they believe in recycling just for the sake of it, just for the environmental impact,” says Chantelle Diakuw, Assistant Director of Collections.
Returning bottles and cans to SARCAN for a refund is a force of habit for the majority of people in Saskatchewan. In fact, in 2022, customers brought 493.6 million beverage containers to SARCAN depots across the province. That’s an astonishing 85 per cent of all containers sold in Saskatchewan being returned—the highest rate in Canada.
While people are well accustomed to bringing in items like pop bottles and aluminum cans, they may not know all the other types of beverage containers SARCAN recycles – and that consumers can receive refunds for these items, says Diakuw.
Beyond the aluminum can, SARCAN accepts a wide range of ready-to-serve beverage containers, including milk cartons, plastic milk jugs, plant-based milk cartons and jugs, drinkable yogurts, kefir, drink boxes, and cannabis-infused beverage containers, says Diakuw
She recommends customers visit SARCAN’s website to get the full list of accepted containers and then take another look in the blue bin to see if there is “more value in there.”
Further to this, Diakuw says people may be unaware of how lucrative it can be to return beverage containers to SARCAN.
In fact, the amount paid out on some containers has increased since 2015 – with containers one litre or over, such as milk jugs and cartons, now netting customers 25 cents each. Additionally, SARCAN is continually expanding its accepted items list, which now includes paint, electronics, and batteries.
If people are reluctant to visit SARCAN and stand in line to get refunds, Drop & Go is a great option, says Diakuw. Customers simply bring their beverage containers to any location, log onto their account at the Drop & Go kiosk, print off tags for their bags and boxes, drop their bags and boxes on the conveyors and go. Funds are electronically transferred, and if customers choose e-Transfer as their method of payment and have auto-deposit turned on, their refund will be deposited directly into their bank account.
“We are really trying to get to the non-recycler and get them to make that first visit. To see how easy it is and see how much value there is,” says Diakuw.
SARCAN even created a series of fun, faux movie trailers with cheeky titles like “Out of the Blue: A Bins Out Mystery” in which housemates are trying to discover who put items in the blue bin that could have been returned to SARCAN.
“We are trying to remind people who aren’t apt to visit SARCAN that it’s there, it’s convenient and it’s worth it,” says Diakuw.
She notes proudly that SARCAN has repeat customers who build great relationships with employees.
Launne Kolla, a wildlife biologist, is one of those enthusiastic regulars.
Kolla recalls years of bringing bags of bottles to SARCAN with her parents as a child. Now, as a mother of three, she has instilled the values of sustainability in her own family. Her children collect and sort recyclables. “The kids love it … Drop & Go is super easy.”
And, she says those bottles and cans add up. Her parents take their refund money and put it into their grandchildren’s RESPs. “Their beverage containers are helping with my university fund,” she laughs.
Diakuw says it’s common for customers to use their SARCAN refunds as an extra savings account.
Kolla runs a blog called Do More Good in which she provides tips on consuming less, sustainable gifting and more.
“I’m always posting about ways people can recycle and getting your kids involved. What surprises me is people just putting it in their blue bin, because you can get so much money back.”
After a lifetime of recycling trips, Launne was able to elevate her relationship with SARCAN by partnering with them through her blog to share how easy and rewarding recycling with SARCAN is with the people in Saskatchewan.
