Recycling Without Limits

In 1995, the Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta (CPAA) established a clothing donation program to generate revenues that would provide funding support for the valuable services offered to its members. Through a partnership with Value Village, donations of gently used clothing and small household items dropped off at bins placed around the community are exchanged for revenue. In 2008, that partnership was expanded to include the ABCRC with a bottle recycling program. Throughout 20 years of experience with these successful partnerships, the CPAA has maintained records on the amount of pounds of clothing, household items and small appliances that are kept out of landfills, and collected, sold, or recycled. Last year, donations dropped off at bins around the community kept over 4 million pounds of useable material out of Alberta landfills, an increase of 12.5% over last year, and the Collection Crew recycled over 250,000 containers, saving over 83,274 kWh of energy, 24,293 kg of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and more than 12,786 kgs from the landfill. The clothing and bottle recycling program generates 60% of the CPAA’s operating revenues, funding programs that serve 3,900 Albertan’s with cerebral palsy and other disabilities each year.