The specially designed bear-proof metal bins encourage park users to be diligent about recycling their used beverage containers. Sixty-one new bear-proof recycle bins are being placed in eight popular BC Parks: Cultus Lake (near Chilliwack), Goldstream (near Victoria), Rathtrevor Beach (near Parksville), Alice Lake (near Squamish), Paul Lake (near Kamloops), Wells Gray (near Clearwater), Manning (in between Hope and Princeton) and Golden Ears (near Maple Ridge). Encorp Pacific has contributed 121 recycling bins to the program with a total value of $184,000.

Expanding on a successful pilot launched in May 2009, the program promotes responsible recycling in provincial parks while deterring bears. Once bears find an easily accessible source of food, they often return to those areas. Encorp's "bear smart" recycling initiative is helping to reduce the number of bear-human conflicts.

The "bear smart" recycling program's main goal is to encourage industries to be more responsible for managing what happens to their products once the consumer is done using them. BC Parks and Encorp Pacific will continue to promote effective waste management systems.

Encorp Pacific is a stewardship program and industry-led agency that is responsible for management and recycling of empty beverage containers. Encorp's mandate is to develop, manage and improve systems to ensure that used containers are properly recycled and diverted from landfills.

Quick Facts:

• Recycling beverage containers saves enough energy to power 63,000 B.C. homes for a year, takes the equivalent of 39,000 cars off B.C.'s roads for one year and contributes to the reduction of about 135,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent being released into the atmosphere.
• Each year, 57,000 tonnes of new products are made from the beverage containers Encorp recycles.
• Since 1994, Encorp has recycled over 10 billion containers.
• 3,700 recycled two-litre plastic beverage containers will produce 150 fleece shirts, and save one barrel of oil in the process.
• Juice boxes get recycled into toilet paper.
• The process of recycling an aluminum can, manufacturing another, filling it, packing and shipping it to stores takes less than 60 days.

Learn More:

To find out more about Encorp Pacific Canada, please go to: www.return-it.ca

Find out more about BC Parks 100 celebrations at: www.bcparks.ca

Connect with BC Parks on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/YourBCParks

Contacts:

Suntanu Dalal

Communications

Ministry of Environment

250 387-9745 Sandy Sigmund

Chief Marketing Officer

Encorp Pacific (Canada)

1 800 330-9767

sandy@encorpinc.com

Connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect