News Release
October 11, 2022
Edmonton, Alberta – The Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) will partner with Nellie Carlson School to host a community recycling roundup event on Friday, October 14 for students, their families, and local community members. The school will serve as a drop-off point for unused electronics and beverage containers during the half-day event.
“Recycling is one of the simplest steps you can take to secure a better future for our planet as it saves space in our landfills and reduces the need to use precious, non-renewable materials to make new products,” said ARMA CEO Ed Gugenheimer. “We hope the community comes out and joins the fun as we work to ensure a cleaner, greener future for Edmonton.”
The event will offer students at Nellie Carlson, who span kindergarten through Grade 9 students, a hands-on lesson about the importance of recycling, waste management, and zero-waste and the circular economy (i.e. when resources are never tossed away but instead reused, recycled, and reintroduced as new products). The event falls within ARMA’s recently expanded mandate, which now includes broadened outreach activities to raise awareness about the organization, as well as increase public education about the importance of reducing waste to the landfill.
“Nellie Carlson School is excited to host this community round-up event. Perhaps no challenge is greater than securing a sustainable future. Engaging youth today will help ensure we have the environmental leaders we need tomorrow. We’re confident our students are up to the task,” said Henry Madsen, the principal of Nellie Carlson School.
“We’re very pleased be supporting Nellie Carlson School’s recycling drive along side ARMA,” commented Guy West, President of the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC). “Recycling is one of the simplest steps you can take to secure a better future for our planet. Bottle drives in particular are a great way to generate funds for various types of initiatives, helps improve the 85% recovery rate of beverage containers in Alberta, keeping them out of landfills and ensuring that they are recycled in an efficient and responsible manner. Having fun with the kids while educating everyone on what can be returned to Bottle Depots, is a bonus.”
Proceeds from the unused electronics and beverage containers and bottles will be used to honour the school’s namesake. Nellie Carlson was a remarkable woman who championed equal rights for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit women and children with a focus on the importance of education. While Nellie sadly passed away in September 2020, her legacy lives on.
On September 29, Nellie’s daughter, Jackie Christopher, attended the school’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. At the event, Jackie presented the school with a quilt created in a colourful pattern representative of the Cree tradition lovingly stitched by Nellie herself. The proceeds from the community recycling roundup event will be used to frame the quilt so it can be displayed at the school.
The community recycling roundup details are as follows:
Location: Nellie Carlson School (4110 MacTaggart Drive NW)
Date: Friday, October 14
Time: 2 – 6 pm
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, ARMA is the province’s leading authority on recycling, overseeing all aspects of end-of-life processing of electronics, paint, tires, and used oil materials. In early 2021, ARMA launched its new vision, “Our Future Without Waste” The campaign envisions an Alberta that is leading the charge on innovative approaches to the 5Rs – refuse, reduce reuse, repurpose, and recycle – while creating new jobs through the circular economy.
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