The province has reached a milestone in its beverage container recycling program by diverting over one billion containers from waste disposal sites. During a celebration in Marystown today, the Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Environment and Conservation, together with officials from the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB), unveiled a banner at one of the province�s Green Depots to mark the success of the province�s beverage container recycling program.

"Ten years after the establishment of the provincial beverage recycling program, I am proud to report that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have diverted over one billion containers from entering our waste disposal sites. That�s enough beverage containers to circle the earth four times!" said minister Jackman. "What a great accomplishment this is towards keeping our province�s environment greener."

John Scott, Chair and CEO of MMSB, said that every month, residents recycle about 10 million containers in the province. "As residents become more educated about the importance of recycling, we anticipate that more and more beverage containers will be diverted from our waste disposal sites," he said. "We�re hoping that with the realization that we have reached such a significant goal together, people will be more compelled than ever to recycle each and every last container." Mr. Scott noted in that regard we still throw away 160,000 used beverage containers everyday.

The provincial beverage recycling program is a deposit-refund system for used beverage containers. Recycling beverage containers not only saves valuable space in our overburdened landfills but it also has other environmental benefits. Recycling containers saves energy, reduces greenhouse gases and can be used in the manufacture of valuable products such a t-shirts, carpet and fiberfill.

Recycling aluminum cans saves an enormous amount of energy. It takes 95 per cent less energy to produce new cans with recycled aluminum than by producing them using new natural resources. To date Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have collectively recycled more than 400 million cans translating into significant energy savings for the environment. Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a bulb for four hours. In this province, we've recycled enough glass bottles to light that bulb for more than 40,000 years. Recycling 10 plastic beverage containers provides enough fiberfill for one ski jacket. We have recycled enough plastic drink containers to produce fiberfill for more than 30 million ski jackets!

The minister noted it is important to recognize that the provincial beverage recycling program is a significant economic and employment generator in the province. "It is evident today that this program is helping to protect the environment, however throughout Newfoundland and Labrador there are more than 250 people directly employed in the beverage container recycling program in the province�s green depots, processing centers, quality assurance facilities and transportation providers, much of which is based in rural Newfoundland and Labrador."

Banners like the one unveiled today in Marystown will be distributed to the remaining 37 Green Depots around the province so residents throughout Newfoundland and Labrador can join in the "one billion saved" celebration.

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2007 02 26                                                  1:05 p.m.