A partnership between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Electronic Products Recycling Association Saskatchewan was recognized by the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council as the winners of the Waste Minimization Award in the non-profit Organization category.
In 2015, the two organizations partnered together to make an impact on e-recycling in our province through their Takeback to Touchdown promotion.
The promotion, featuring wide receiver Rob Bagg as the spokesperson, challenged Saskatchewan residents to truly ‘be green’ and recycle their end-of-life electronics at their local collection depot for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind Saskatchewan Roughrider prize package.
Together, with the help of residents from 300-plus Saskatchewan communities, over 1,400 metric tonnes of electronics were collected throughout the football season, diverting over 200,000 devices from landfills. Recognizing the impact this promotion has had on reducing waste in Saskatchewan, the SWRC saw fit to give the non-profit award to these successful partners.
Both EPRA Saskatchewan’s and the Saskatchewan Roughrider’s are repeat winners at the Waste Minimization Awards, showing a commitment to environment initiatives.
“The non-profit category is awarded to non-profit or grassroots groups operating in Saskatchewan that have waste reduction programs that exceed expectation,” said Joanne Fedyk, executive director of the SWRC.
“This promotion is one that has clearly exceeded expectations, and we’re thrilled to see two Saskatchewan-based non-profit organizations working together to make an impact,” said Fedyk.
While Saskatchewan residents have been recycling end-of-life electronics since 2007, however, EPRA Saskatchewan’s partnership with the Saskatchewan Roughriders is still relatively new.
“Both our organizations want to be leaders of sustainable recycling in Saskatchewan and champions for the environment,” said Steve Mazurak, VP of sales and partnerships for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “We are proud of what we’ve accomplished together in just a short time, and are looking forward to doing even more in the future.”
“We are amazed by the efforts of Saskatchewan residents who are committed to being green. To see people participate from towns, both large and small, all across the province has been really rewarding,” said Gayleen Creelman, program director of EPRA Sask.
Due to the success of the program, the EPRA Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Roughriders have decided to continue with “Season 2” of the Takeback to Touchdown promotion in 2016.
