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| The Battle to Keep Recycling Alive |
| by Sara-Jane Brocklehurst |
| The sound of bottles and cans banging against each other fills the air. This is the Smithers Bottle Depot and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday, people come to return their wine bottles, beer and pop cans, fruit beverage containers, etc., for a small refund. Every penny counts in this day and age. Wayne Rose started the Smithers Bottle Depot 21 years ago. Each bottle depot in B.C. is owned by an independent individual who works with Encorp Pacific. Soft drink companies and grocery stores register with Encorp Pacific by law to ensure that their bottles and other beverage containers are properly guided into the recycling stream. |
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| Encorp handles the administration of bottle return and pays independents like Wayne Rose for the refunds they pay out and handling fees, thus making the business viable. The Smithers Bottle Depot was started by the Kinsmen Club and operated in the warehouse on the opposite side of the street from SAAN's. Seven years ago, the Kinsmen Club folded and Wayne Rose and his wife went from managing the bottle depot business to owning it. They moved to their present location on Victoria Street and hired three mentally-challenged individuals. At first, these three people were subsidized through a program but then Rose opted to keep them employed despite the loss of the subsidy. Not only does Rose run the Bottle Depot but he also now handles the only public recycling drop-off location in town. A number of years back, the Bulkley Valley Recycling Society started recycling down by the CN railway. |
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They ran into problems storing the recycled goods until they could be shipped out and they also had volunteer burnout. When things looked like they couldn't keep going, Rose stepped in to help out. He figured that with the market prices, he might be able to make a go of it. But little did he know nor could he forsee the downturn of the Asian Pacific economy.  |
