P.E.I. aces join hands to recycle batteries

Stonepark School, Charlottetown, motivates students to collect and win in Call2Recycle's National Waste Ace Contests

CHARLOTTETOWN, Dec. 16, 2015 /CNW/ - As Canada's national consumer battery recycling stewardship organization, Call2Recycle Canada celebrated Waste Reduction Week (October 19-25) this year by calling on Canadians to stop hoarding dead batteries.

In P.E.I., Call2Recycle partnered with Stonepark Intermediate School in Charlottetown, P.E.I. - the largest Junior High School (Grades 7-9) on the island with nearly 850 students and 70+ staff. All were invited to participate in a friendly competition to see who could collect the most spent batteries and used cellphones during Waste Reduction Week. 

P.E.I. residents and students joined hands to achieve their recycling objectives. The overwhelming efforts of the Stonepark Intermediate School in Charlottetown, championed by Vice Principal Jill Burry, resulted in almost 7,000 batteries being collected by the students. "Grade 8 student Emma Willoughby took it upon herself to collect almost 2,500 batteries on her paper route to win the title of P.E.I. Waste Ace, " said Burry. "We achieved our objectives in terms of sustainability, awareness and collections, thanks to the efforts of our Green Team." The second and third prize winners were Brandon MacKinnon who collected 1000 batteries, and Lesley Evison with 306 batteries.

The school will host at an Award ceremony on December 16, 2015, with Honourable Minister of Communities, Land and Environment, Robert Mitchell, who also serves as the local MLA for the Stonepark area, and Merie Surkan, Education Officer at the Island Waste Management Corporation (IWMC), along with Cynthia Fleet, Superintendent, Principal Norman Beck, Vice Principal Jill Burry, and Line Berube, Director, Call2Recycle.

"I want to commend the students and staff of Stonepark Intermediate School for their impressive commitment to bettering our environment," said the Honourable Robert Mitchell, Minister of Communities, Land and Environment. "I also want to express thanks to Stonepark for raising awareness around our battery recycling program on Prince Edward Island and encourage all Islanders to follow suit in their remarkable recycling practices."

"We worked collaboratively to help Stonepark School to run a successful battery recycling program supplemented by a media blitz on the radio and press," said Line Berube, Director, Call2Recycle, Eastern Canada. "Islanders are known for giving back and protecting the environment, and we were delighted to work with this school in Charlottetown to raise awareness for battery recycling throughout the province."

Currently, ninety percent of P.E.I. residents live within a 15 km radius of an available drop-off site. Over the next year Call2Recycle will be strategically adding collection locations across the island in easily-accessible places like hardware stores, electronic stores and pharmacies, government buildings, schools, and health care centres. P.E.I. residents can find their closest drop off location at call2recycle.ca.

About Call2Recycle Canada, Inc.
Call2Recycle Canada, Inc. is a non-profit organization that collects and recycles batteries at no cost for municipalities, businesses and consumers. Since 1997, Call2Recycle has diverted over 45 million kilograms of batteries and cellphones from the solid waste stream and established more than 7,000 collection sites throughout Canada. A leader in its field, Call2Recycle was built upon a commitment to environmental sustainability and meets or exceeds the most rigorous recycling standards for the safe recycling and management of batteries. Learn more at call2recycle.ca or call 1.888.224.9764.

SOURCE Call2Recycle

Image with caption: "Call2Recycle (CNW Group/Call2Recycle)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151216_C8518_PHOTO_EN_563540.jpg

Image with caption: "From right to left: Cynthia Fleet, Superintendent; Line Berube, Director, Eastern Canada, Call2Recycle; Robert Mitchell, Honourable Minister of Communities, Land and Environment; Sandra Abuwalla, Marketing Director, Call2Recyle; Jill Burry, Vice Principal, Stonepark School; Norman Beck, Principal, Stonepark School with the Green Team (CNW Group/Call2Recycle)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151216_C8518_PHOTO_EN_566959.jpg

For further information: Sandra Abuwalla, Director, Marketing & Communications, Call2Recycle Canada, Inc., [e-mail], [phone]; Tia Thomas, Consultant, Environics Communications, [e-mail], [phone]