Environment and Conservation
July 22, 2010
Green Depot Pilot Project to Help Streamline Recycling
Efforts
Recycling efforts in the province may become more streamlined as an
innovative system created by Ever Green Environmental is tested at two
independent green depots. With assistance of $51,100 from the
Newfoundland and Labrador Waste Management Trust Fund, Ever Green will
implement its information technology (IT) based management information
system as a three-month pilot project.
"This project demonstrates the commitment by the Provincial
Government to continue to seek out creative means to improve existing
waste diversion and recycling programs to better meet the needs of
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians," said the Honourable Charlene Johnson,
Minister of Environment and Conservation. "We are very pleased to
support Ever Green Environmental as they endeavor to advance and share
the management information system they have successfully integrated into
their operations."
In 2006, Ever Green Environmental created an IT-based Management
Information System which has enabled them to double the volume of units
managed daily and eliminate error rates. The company also introduced a
recycling card which eliminates wait times and line-ups for customers,
and allows them to track their usage and account revenues online. The
recycling card and the management information system were created and
developed in Newfoundland and Labrador by Ever Green Environmental and
Blue Communications, a local IT company, and are the first of their kind
in North America. Under this initiative, Ever Green, which is a
charitable entity, has undertaken to make its technology available to
other green depots in the province.
"We have recently implemented new licensing standards for our network
of green depots throughout the province which will greatly enhance the
public's experience when visiting depots to recycle their used beverage
containers," said Leigh Puddester, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of
the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB). "We will continue to make
strategic investments through the trust fund that make it easier and
more convenient for people of the province to recycle and help support
our provincial goal of diverting 50 per cent of our waste by 2015."
If the pilot project is successful, a provincial roll-out of the
Management Information System across all green depots will be
considered.
"We are very proud of the fact that our system is the first of its
kind in North America, and we are excited about the possibility of
incorporating this program in other green depots in the province," said
Ed Drover, Chair of the Board of Directors of Ever Green Environmental.
"Ever Green has invested $250,000 over the past four years in the
development of our Management Information System.
The MMSB is a provincial Crown agency that reports to the Minister of
Environment and Conservation. Its mandate is to support progressive
waste management practices in the province, with a particular focus on
waste diversion, recycling and public education, in order to ensure a
clean and healthy environment throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
For more information on the Newfoundland and Labrador Waste
Management Trust Fund administered by MMSB, please visit
www.mmsb.nl.ca
or call MMSB 709-753-0948.
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