The bottle depot on Industrial Way has been finding success thanks to community support, and organizers say it’s on track to collect around 750,000 bottles and cans in the span of a year.
The depot, run by Rotary Club of Sun Peaks, promotes recycling and raises funds for Rotary, Adaptive Sports Sun Peaks and Sun Peaks Education Society.
Michael Fane, Rotary’s president-elect, said the depot continues to see growth in donations.
“My charming personality accounts for some of the growth,” Fane joked. “But a huge amount of it is that it’s convenient and Sun Peaks has bought in … I can’t say enough about the people at Sun Peaks.”
Rotary is responsible for sorting the bottles and cans, but Fane members of the community also volunteer. As the depot continues to get busier, more residents step up. Fane said it’s rewarding to be part of a project the community is so involved in.
Fane added he’s thrilled no matter how many bottles the depot receives. Sometimes restaurants in the village drop off over 1,000 returnables at a time, but Fane said he’s equally grateful for residents and visitors who only donate a few bottles.
“I’ve had people come in and give me the water bottle out of their centre console. Those were going in the garbage otherwise,” Fane said. “We’ve saved … 300,000 to 400,000 bottles and cans that did not end up in the landfill.”
As of Feb. 1, Rotary has expanded the returnables they accept to include items like milk cartons and juice boxes.
“If you or anybody you know drank it, we would like the container it came in,” Fane said.
The depot is located beside the transfer station on Industrial Way, and donations can be dropped off 24/7.
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