We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary as an organization! Residential recycling in Manitoba has come a long way in the past 10 years and we want to celebrate our accomplishments.
Here’s a look back at some of the milestones we’ve achieved over the years.
Since 2010, residential recycling has increased in Manitoba by 26.1%. This includes, paper, glass, plastic, and steel, to name a few. We’ve collected over 800,000 tonnes of recyclable materials over the past decade and there’s no doubt that we will hit the million tonne mark soon.
As a not-for-profit organization, MMSM is committed to providing funding and support for Manitoba communities. Over the years, we’ve provided our partners with over $140 million dollars in funding for their residential recycling programs. We currently fund and support 148 municipalities across the province, as well as post-secondary educational institutions, First Nations and parks. Since joining our program, many communities have seen increases in the amount of recyclable materials collected from residents. Currently, MMSM has 796 registered stewards. Those stewards include brand owners, producers, distributors and manufacturers who pay fees to cover the costs of recycling their products and packaging.
To educate consumers about recycling, we’ve run multiple advertising campaigns throughout the years. Our “Recycle like Michael” campaign encouraged consumers to be their own recycling superhero to recycle all they can. This specific campaign was nominated in multiple categories at the 2018 and 2019 Signature Awards, celebrating the best in Manitoba’s advertising, design, and marketing. In both years, MMSM took home the award for Best Production under $20,000.
To educate more consumers and residents, MMSM actively posts on various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn). Collectively, we have over 6,000 followers on our accounts. Our ongoing commitment to improve recycling education for residents can also be seen with the recent upgrade of our consumer website SimplyRecycle.ca. A new web tool called the “Recyclepedia” was added to help Manitobans understand which items are accepted and not accepted in their blue bins.
In 2016, MMSM launched an interactive website, SimplyRecycleSchools.ca, in response to the demand for in-person school recycling presentations. This website takes students and teachers on a journey of what happens to their recyclables after they are placed in the recycling bin or garbage can. To date, 3,275 classrooms have taken the journey. We launched another sponsorship in 2012 with The Forks North Portage Partnership to create the Target Zero Eco Tour, presented by MMSM. This is an interactive tour, led by two actors. Since then, over 4,750 students, teachers and visitors have taken the tour.
MMSM has partnered with the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) and its Recycle Everywhere program on the Northern and First Nations Community Clean-Up. This program was created to increase recycling awareness in the north and to combat litter after Manitoba’s cold, long winters. Since the program started in 2010, participating communities have collected over 8,000 kg of recyclable material.
MMSM and CBCRA staff presenting The Pas with a plaque recognizing their efforts for the 2017 Northern and First Nations Community Clean-Up.
Since the beginning of our program launch, MMSM has been tasked with promoting the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastic bags in Manitoba. One of our longest running programs, Bag Up Manitoba, in partnership with Take Pride Winnipeg, asks students to collect as many plastic bags for recycling during a month-long period as possible. To date, almost 12 million plastic bags have been collected for recycling!
We have achieved many milestones in the past 10 years. As we move into the next 10 years and beyond, MMSM remains committed to providing stable and long-term funding for Manitoba’s residential recycling program. We will continue to work towards a circular economy and to ensuring your recyclables are recycled safely and efficiently.
Happy recycling!
To view our latest annual report, please click here.
