WEYBURN - The Weyburn SARCAN has a big reason to celebrate the success of their recycling program, as they were recently recognized as “Large Depot of the Year” for 2022.
“We have secret shoppers that come into the depot, and they grade us on cleanliness, that we are all wearing our PPE, outside look of the depot, and other factors,” explained Cheryl Moen, Depot Supervisor.
“By winning ‘Large Depot of the Year’, it means that we won in every single category, including customer service. We really try to excel in the customer service and cleanliness.”
SARCAN recycling depots provide beverage container, paint and electronics recycling at 73 depots in 65 Saskatchewan communities. People of all abilities are employed at SARCAN and earn competitive wages, as well as employer-paid benefits and pension plans.
One of the programs at the SARCAN depot that has seen an increase, especially during COVID-19 restrictions, was the Drop-and-Go Kiosk.
“People can come right to the depot, they can go right into the kiosk room and sign up for an account using the computer. They can pick a security question to protect their account, and they also have options for payment including PayPal, e-transfers or by cheque,” said Moen.
“We used to get about 20 customers through drop-and-go previous to COVID-19 restrictions, and now it is 400 to 500 a month. It is a very good feature, especially if you are just on a lunch break and we have a line-up at the front counters.”
There is still a regular flow of customers through the front counters, with an “increase of recycling during the summer”.
“We still have lots of people who prefer to come into the depot, which we love to see. We love to see our regular customers and interacting with them.”
It is important that customers who are using the SARCAN programs remember to take time to know what they can recycle, and also to remove all caps off bottles and containers.
“We ask that all payable glass bottles be in crates or boxes, we do not take glass jars and such; these can go in their blue bins or to the Goliath compound. We do have crates available in the drop-and-go kiosk. This is for the safety of our employees, to prevent injuries if there is any broken glass,” said Moen.
Tin and soup cans, and cardboard need to deposited at the Goliath’s public recycling depot at 1380 Coteau Avenue West, or in the household recycling that is picked up weekly by Goliath.
SARCAN will also take electronics for recycling. At the Weyburn depot, there is a separate part of the building that people can access to donate and drop off electronic recycling. Electronics are brought to the back of the depot (Door C) where there is a doorbell to ring. Residents must put their own electronics inside of a bin. Those who need assistance lifting should have another person with them, as the staff is not allowed to help. There is no bin available outside and electronics should not be left outside the building.
One of the ways that the Weyburn SARCAN depot has increased workflow at their location is by the purchase of a NextGen crushing machine.
“We have had it for three to four years. It has helped out tremendously, because we can constantly push out product through the machine, and crushes everything compact so we can fit more recycling totes onto our trailer. It has really helped out, and we don’t have to do trailer switches as much as we used to,” added Moen.
Most importantly, Moen credits the team at the Weyburn SARCAN. “We have an excellent team. I cannot run this place without the team I have. They are wonderful. They help no matter what, and are very friendly with all the customers.”
