Ever since SARCAN and the deposit-system came on the scene, Saskatchewan groups and organizations have been taking advantage of that ‘cash-for-cans’ opportunity to raise funds.

What surely began as ‘Hey, if we all take our cans in together, we’ll probably get a good pay day!’, then morphed into ‘You know, my neighbor has some cans. I’ll see if they’ll let us have them, too.’, bottle drives today are now full-fledged fundraising events with groups and organizations pulling in thousands of dollars.

Here is a run-down of how you can organize and run a successful bottle drive.

Contact your Local SARCAN

Head over to our locations page to find the contact information for your local SARCAN depot. Give them a shout to find out what resources they have available for you to help make your bottle drive a breeze!

If you already know when you’ll be bottle-driving, when you call in for supplies you can also book in your appointment for drop-off!

Organize your group

Choose dates and times for the volunteers from your group to get together and go around and collect containers. You’ll need some drivers to take the vehicles around and some collectors to go door to door and pick up the donations.

Try to gather as many volunteers as you can – more bodies and hands will help you collect more bottles!

Let your community know!

With plenty of time before the pick-up dates you chose, let the neighborhood that you plan to collect from know that you will be coming around. Announce your drive in community newsletters, on social media, or print out some door hangers from our Downloadable Resources.

This will make your drive a lot more efficient as the containers will already be ready for you when you go around to collect them!

Pick up the pile!

Head out around town and start picking up the container donations!

Be sure to have a bigger vehicle to transport the containers as you pick them up. It’s also a good idea to set up a ‘headquarters’ where you can store the containers as you get them.

We know that your home isn’t the only place where you are going to enjoy a beverage. If you organize a big event – like a wedding, street fair, or festival – or you run a business, those containers can pile up quite quickly and you’ll have too much to just bring them through the front of the depot for our Over The Counter service.

Luckily, with SARCAN’s Bulk Return option, you can bring that big pile of containers all in one shot and the process is simple & stress-free!

Start by heading to our Downloadable Resources page to grab a guide on preparing your containers for a Bulk Return.

SARCAN Pro Tip! – Set up a ‘recycling station’ at your event or workplace to make preparing your order a breeze!

With your containers all prepared and ready to go, make an appointment to drop them off at your local SARCAN depot by calling in. You can find their phone number on the Hours & Location page.

We are quite popular, so it’s a good idea to call a few (or more) days ahead of when you plan on dropping off your order!

When it comes time for you to drop off, simply head to your depot and unload your containers. As all Bulk Return orders are paid by cheque, make sure you have the correct information for who to make the cheque out to and who to contact once your order is complete!

Our expertly trained Recycling Technicians will get to work counting your containers. Once it is complete, we will let you know and you can return to pick up your cheque!

Whether you are just kicking off a new recycling program in your school, or you have been collecting containers for a while now, we want to offer all the help we can to help you and your students absolutely ace recycling!

Here, we have all the resources and materials that a recycling syllabus calls for: a how-to guide for setting up a School Recycling System, bins to help you collect containers, posters for the bins to make your job of preparing the containers for return a breeze, and posters to help spread the word about your bottle drives.

Take it a step further and welcome your students into the AP Recycling Class with our guides on setting up a Green Team for your school or conducting a waste audit to see just how good you are at recycling.

So, settle in, everyone – class is about to begin!

Bins for the win!

Make recycling easy and accessible to all of your students, faculty, and visitors with these easily identifiable SARCAN School Recycling Bins. Everyone walking your halls will know where to go once they take that last sip of their beverage.

Use the Bin Order Form below to get some bins for your school today!

See the bin size here. Orders are limited to 5 bins per facility/year.

SARCAN School Pro Tip! If your school has water fountains, there is a wonderful spot for these bins beside them. It allows your recyclers to empty out any leftover liquids and gives them a chance to give the containers a quick rinse before they hit the bin, helping keep cleanup from being a sticky situation!

Graduate with full (recycling) honours!

Running your school recycling system has never been easier with these downloadable resources! Whether you just need some posters to let people know which containers go in which bin or you are running a bottle drive and want to spread the word – we have you covered!

Once you have that mastered, earn some extra credit by starting a Green Team for your school and see the effects of your efforts by conducting a waste audit.

Excellent Extracurriculars!

We know that recycling at your school doesn’t just happen in the classrooms. But, it couldn’t be easier to expand your efforts beyond your school doors with a My Drop & Go Group Account!

• Get a ‘Group Phrase’ for quick and easy sign-in at the depot to get you in and out in as little as a minute.
• Run a ‘Virtual Bottle Drive’ by giving your phrase to faculty, friends, and families who can use the phrase at any SARCAN depot in the province
• Update all of your account information – including your payment method – with just a few clicks
• Get a detailed list of all your transactions on your account – including donations
• Check out your ‘Earth Saver Stats’ and see the impact of your recycling such as landfill space saved, energy savings, and more!

Field Trip!

Still want to come down and see it all in action in person? No problem! Use the button below to get in touch with us and we will help set you up with a tour of one of our depots!

We’ve already shared the steps to take when returning your workplace’s beverage containers to your local SARCAN depot, but you still have to collect them before you can bring them. Here are some handy resources for setting up recycling stations in your office, shop, or lunch room.

Save time and sort it at the source!

When returning a Bulk Order to SARCAN, you’ll need to sort the containers. Luckily, we have some great posters to go with your collection bins to help take the load off your recycling team.

Instead of just one bin that you’ll need to go through later, use a bin for each type of container and pop a poster above it so that you can keep them separated at the source.

Are you running the next big festival this summer? Setting up a street fair? Have your entire family coming to town for a big wedding in the park? No matter the celebration, don’t forget to invite SARCAN!

Big, blue outdoor recycling bins are available to borrow so you can keep your event green and clean. And they are completely free to borrow! All you need to do is arrange for pickup at one of our processing plants in either Saskatoon or Regina.

Not only are these bins big, they are also very durable, and are wheeled, making them quite easy to move around as you need. They come with free liners to help you collect the containers at the event and store them as you await your drop-off appointment time.

If you would like to use some of these bins for your event, reach out to us!