You may have seen them at no shortage of areas you venture through on walks in the city in years past, however based on the results of a new audit released this past week beverage container litter appears to be a markedly smaller problem on Brandon streets than it was at the start of the current decade.
The annual litter audit, commissioned by the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) for its Recycle Everywhere program and conducted by 3rd party consulting firms, found Brandon to have a 91% reduction in beverage container litter relative to a baseline audit done in 2010.
According to data provided by a spokesperson for the CBCRA, the local portion of the audit was done at 65 pre-selected locations in the city and netted a total of just 12 containers in 2019 compared to 136 in 2010. Types of containers tracked include plastic, metal and glass containers as well aseptic cartons
The 91% number is the greatest reduction among five Manitoba cities in the study, though with Steinbach’s baseline dating back to 2013 in arriving at its 85% litter reduction it is likely to give the Wheat City a run for its money. According to the audit Winnipeg showed a 75% reduction since 2010.
Reduction at Manitoba cities tracked in the audit (Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association)
An audit done in 2018 found that Brandon had an 85% reduction in the variety of litter since the 2010 baseline, or a total of 20 containers found at the sites throughout the city.
The CBCRA is a not-for-profit, industry-funded organization who through its Recycle Everywhere program strives to educate Manitobans on beverage container recycling and ensure it is easy to recycle empty beverage containers throughout communities in the province.
As part of Brandon efforts, CBCRA/Recycle Everywhere last summer distributed more than 16,000 free blue recycle bins to homes in the city.
More on the Recycle Everywhere program can be learned at https://www.recycleeverywhere.ca