What is Raven Recycling Society?
Raven subsidizes Yukon recycling . It costs Raven about $300/tonne to handle, bale and ship most recyclables. We receive only $10-$200/tonne in return for 95% of those recyclables. Profits from our bottle depot business make up for recycling money losing materials.
Raven saves you tax dollars. In most every other municipality, taxpayers pay for recycling services. Raven recycles without any core government funding, thus saving everyone tax dollars.
Raven is one of the largest exporters of raw material in the Yukon . In 2009 we shipped out roughly 550 semi-trailer loads of loose recyclables.
Without Raven there would be no recycling. In 1989 Raven was started by a group of volunteers who wanted to see recycling happen in the Yukon. Raven continues to offer the only full recycling centre in the Territory.
Raven is more than just a business…we’re a not-for-profit business
This means:
- we’re a non-profit society run by a volunteer board of directors (click here to review the current Raven Constitution)
- we are a business that receives no core government funding
- we offer 20 well paid private-sector-style jobs for Yukoners.
- we spend all of our 'profits' on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and composting activities
- we’re separate from all levels of government
RAVEN IS A…
Refund Depot:
- giving refunds on all ready-to-drink beverage containers sold in the Yukon, except for dairy and dairy substitutes.
Recycling Centre:
- accepting and processing over 30 different household commodities for recycling.
- offering a great ‘Free Store’, where clean working items can be exchanged at no cost.
- buying scrap metals for recycling.
Community Service Provider:
- educating Yukoners about waste issues (see our website for all the school and office programs available).
- providing free recycling bins and containers for community events.
- offering pickup services for paper, cardboard and beverage containers from local businesses.
Private Contractor :
- administering the Yukon government Recycling Club for Children Program
- operating the compost facility and the gatehouse at the City of Whitehorse landfill
- providing waste audits and waste expertise to those who need it
RAVEN RECYCLING NEEDS YOU!
Bring your cans and bottles to us!
We use profits from our bottle depot to subsidize the processing and shipping of money losing recyclables (tin, paper, plastic etc.). The more beverage containers you bring to Raven, the more Raven can recycle. We accept donated bottles too!
ZERO WASTE
What is Zero Waste ?
Zero Waste means exactly what you think…no waste!
Is Zero Waste Possible?
Yes. Imagine if we designed all products so that they could be reused, repaired, recycled or composted. Zero waste includes ‘recycling’ but goes beyond recycling by taking a ‘whole system’ approach to the flow of resources through society.History of Raven Recycling
The Raven Recycling Society has been around since 1989 when it was known as the Recycling Committee of the Yukon Conservation Society. At that stage the Pop Can Depot was run entirely by volunteers. A single penny refund was given only on pop-cans, with the funds coming from the organizer’s own pockets.
Things have changed a lot since then for Cans and Bottle Refunds. To that end, Raven accepts over 30 different commodities to be recycled. Acting from our mandate to divert waste from the landfills of the Yukon, Raven ensures that any surplus funds from recycling profitable commodities (such as aluminum) are spent on recycling items that lose money (such as magazines).
Raven is now an established not-for-profit society that puts all proceeds back into the community, including about 20 well-paid, non-government jobs. As we do not receive direct government funding, we are a unique non-profit society that works very much like a business.
The Raven Recycling Society is the central recycler in the Yukon Territory for household and commercial waste. While there are currently 19 recycling depots and 2 material processors in the Yukon, Raven Recycling is the only recycling centre with a commitment to educating the public about the 3Rs. In addition to this, Raven has now adopted Rethink as a 4th R which delves into the idea that we need to be re-evaluating our lifestyles and pruchase choices in light of how we're affecting the environment.
Funds are also spent on research, consulting, public and school education programs, and advising various levels of government about the benefits of waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling.
Established recycling initiatives, such as the corporate PaperSave pickup program, are continuously re-evaluated to improve the efficiency and quality of paper recycling in the Yukon.
Customers range from members of the general public refunding pop cans to Yukon community depots who require processing for their recyclable commodities.
An interesting quirk of the recycling trade is that the Society is one of the territory’s largest bulk exporters. In 2009, Raven shipped the equivalent of 550 semi trailers worth of loose recyclables outside of the Yukon for recycling and reuse. This does not include the waste diverted through composting initiatives.
Throughout the years, Raven has established the viability of recycling, and continues to be the groundbreaker in accepting and processing new and different recyclable items.