Up to 15 organizations in Quebec can receive $2K each for recycling education efforts that include cartons
Toronto, Ontario, April 22, 2022 – Carton Council of Canada (CCC) today announced the launch of the organization’s second Community Education Award program developed to support and enhance recycling education in Canadian communities. In 2022, the Community Education Award program will focus on the province of Quebec.
The award program is open to Quebec-based organizations that educate residents about local recycling programs, particularly those that include food and beverage cartons. This includes municipalities, sorting centres (both not-for-profit and for-profit), service boards, and any other organization that has recycling education as part of its mandate. To receive the award, participating communities must show that their websites accurately and clearly define carton recycling. They will also be asked to provide at least two other examples of communications activities conducted during the year that promote recycling in general, while also prominently including cartons. More information about how communities can participate is found here (available in French only).
The first fifteen organizations to sign up for the program will be eligible to receive $2,000 each by demonstrating their proactive recycling education efforts, featuring food and beverage cartons. Registration opens on April 22, 2022 and will close on June 3, 2022. The participating communities will then have until Friday, November 25, 2022 to showcase their efforts and submit their work to CCC.
In a survey done in 2021, recycling scored at the top of the environmental actions that consumers in Quebec undertake.[i] “Interestingly, despite a demonstrated commitment to recycling in general, we also know that there is still confusion about the recyclability of food and beverage cartons,” said Isabelle Faucher, Managing Director, Carton Council of Canada. “We also know that local resources are important to support education as consumers tend to look first to their community websites for information about what they can and cannot recycle.”
In 2021, CCC launched the program to communities across Ontario where 13 organizations successfully completed the program by showcasing their proactive recycling education efforts featuring food and beverage cartons. “We had a good experience with the project and are pleased to have the ad and poster files for use in the future … because the campaign is far from over,” shared Cathie Green from the Township of Drummond/North Elmsley who was among the recipients of the grant. Campaign messages were shared on various platforms, including social media, communities’ websites, and in local newspapers.
“We are pleased and proud to kick off the second year of the CCC Community Education Award,” said Ms. Faucher. “We are excited to bring this initiative to Quebec and hope we can replicate the participation, enthusiasm and success we saw during our inaugural year.”
ABOUT FOOD AND BEVERAGE CARTONS
Food and beverage cartons are highly recyclable materials that come in two kinds: refrigerated cartons that store, milk, juice and egg substitutes; and shelf-stable cartons that are packaged for broths, milks, juices, soups and even wine. When sorted by themselves at materials recovery facilities (MRFs), cartons are a valuable material in high demand. Made mostly from paper, a renewable resource, cartons have become popular containers for food and beverage products as they are lightweight and compact, with a low carbon footprint. When recycled, they are used to make office and writing paper, tissues, paper towels, and even sustainable building and construction materials.
ABOUT THE CARTON COUNCIL OF CANADA
The Carton Council of Canada (CCC) is composed of four leading carton manufacturers, Elopak, Pactiv Evergreen, SIG Combibloc, and Tetra Pak. Formed in 2010, CCC works to deliver long-term collaborative solutions in order to divert valuable cartons from disposal. Carton Council of Canada provides a platform for carton manufacturers in Canada to benchmark and profile cartons as renewable, recyclable and low-carbon packaging solutions.
For the past 12 years, CCC has been working with all stakeholders in the recycling supply chain to increase carton recovery and recycling. There is demand for feedstock from food and beverage cartons to make new products, including paper products and building materials.
For more information, visit recyclecartons.ca.
[i] https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/06/07/barometre-les-gestes-ecologiques-adoptes-par-les-quebecois