Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland Residents Are Helping to Fight Cancer By Recycling More

Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland Residents Are Helping to Fight Cancer By Recycling More

June 10, 2015

Emterra Environmental donates $1/ tonne of recyclables to Hospital Foundation

COURTENAY, BC (June 10, 2015) -- Every week that residents in the Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland areas put out their recycling bins for collection the past few years, they’ve been helping to fight cancer in the region.

Through a one-of-a-kind, Emterra Environmental Community™ Care program called “Make Your Contribution at the Curb™”, Emterra has committed to donating to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation $1 per tonne of recyclables collected and processed in the region.

Today, during a special occasion held at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Emterra’s VP of Operations, Ed Walsh, and Emterra Operations Manager, Dave Ross, presented a cheque for $6,130 to St. Joseph’s Hospital President and CEO, Jane Murphy and Foundation Executive Director, Lynn Dashkewytch.

“We are delighted to receive this gift from Emterra,” Dashkewytch said. “ I am happy to report this donation puts us over the top in our drive to raise funds for the cancer care expansion at St. Joseph’s, ensuring our cancer patients can continue to receive the care they need right here in their own community.“

This renovation and new equipment was needed to address the growing need for cancer care services. In 2007 when the cancer care unit was built, St. Joseph’s had 1408 cancer care patient visits. Last year this number grew to over 4600.

“These changes will ensure sustainable cancer diagnostic and treatment is available at St. Joseph’s, for our loved ones, for the next four years,” said Jane Murphy. In 2017, cancer diagnostic and treatment services will transfer to the new Island Health, Comox Valley Hospital.

Emterra Environmental has been a long-time partner in the Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland communities, collecting recyclables, organics, and garbage from residents and businesses.

“Make Your Contribution at the Curb™” encourages residents to increase their recycling. The more residents recycle the materials accepted in the program, the more Emterra will donate to the hospital.

“By linking recycling to providing a supporting financial gift, Emterra not only improves access to cancer care services but also actively builds greener communities by encouraging people to improve their recycling habits and divert more from landfill,” Ed Walsh said.

He added that Emterra will continue its unique “Make Your Contribution at the Curb™” program in the region and urges residents to recycle one more can and one more plastic bottle every week to keep growing the amount Emterra donates to the hospital foundation year over year.

About Emterra Group

Emterra Group is a Canadian leader in waste resources management. A family owned and operated company, it comprises four divisions offering municipal and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) customers with a fully integrated approach to collecting, processing and marketing waste, recyclables, organic waste, used tires, and more. Emterra has operations in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Michigan, USA, and annually ships about 500,000 tonnes of recyclables to end-markets to be re-manufactured into new products. Driven by its mandate to increase the sustainability of its operations, Emterra is one of Canada’s most progressive users of alternative green fleet technologies in the waste management industry and consistently deploys the latest green technologies to truly “walk the talk”, including using CNG vehicles and fuelling stations and operating optical sorting equipment in its recycling plants.

 

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Paulina Leung
VP of Corporate Strategy and Business Development
Emterra Group
905.336.9084, ext. 130
Paulina.Leung@emterra.ca