Contests with SARCAN Recycling

Category: Consumer Awareness Campaigns
Time frame: February 2023
Location: Saskatchewan
Status: Completed

In February 2023, SARCAN Recycling, the managers of the province’s deposit-return program, ran their second Unusual Suspects social media contest, this time with the direct support of CCC. This fun contest challenged residents of Saskatchewan to return cartons, including juice boxes and dairy- and non-dairy beverage containers. For every “Suspect” someone tagged on social media, they were entered for a chance to win one of three cash prizes up to $1,000.

SARCAN had a total of 88 individual and 5 school entries and the contest had a total social media reach of more than 127,000. SARCAN also reported a combined year-over-year increase in carton returns in February, which in part may be attributable to the success of the campaign.

This was a follow-up to its original 2021 Unusual Suspects campaign to encourage Saskatchewan residents to bring back more products that have typically lower return rates, such as plastic milk jugs, yogurt bottles and batteries, in addition to beverage cartons.