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Refundable containers build opportunities for Greater Victoria youth

Donations to Bottle Depot’s charity bins raise $11,254 for Scouts Canada’s Camp Barnard
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Youngsters get ready to try their hand at canoeing at Camp Barnard. (Photo courtesy Camp Barnard)

Refundable beverage containers are helping to build a new lodge for Greater Victoria youth.

The Bottle Depot’s fundraising efforts collected $11,254 that will be used for the construction of a new lodge at Camp Barnard near Sooke.

ALSO READ: Victoria Scouts celebrate 50-year-old scout circle with classic campfire

Charity donation bins at the Bottle Depot’s three locations on Glanford Avenue, Queens Avenue and Quadra Street accept donated refundable beverage containers in support of a different charity each month. May was Camp Barnard’s turn and locals supported the camp by donating over 112,000 containers into those bins.

After a full year closed due to COVID-19, the camp opened in March to Scouts Canada members for day camps only. Kids can enjoy a paddling lesson, but no overnight camping just yet.

Meanwhile, the lodge construction project that was scheduled to start in spring 2020 is getting underway this fall. Bottle Depot’s donation will be added to the I Care ‘Bout Camp fundraiser, which asks those with ICBC refunds to consider donating them to Camp Barnard for the new lodge. More info is at www.campbarnard.ca.

An estimated one million refundable beverage containers go missing every day in B.C., either littered along the roadside or local parks or ending up in the landfill. The Bottle Depot estimates that over $3,000 worth of refundable beverage containers are being discarded in curbside blue boxes every day in Greater Victoria.

ALSO READ: With take out, online shopping on the rise, Recycle BC releases tips for recycling

The Bottle Depot reminds residents that returning refundable beverage containers to the charity donation bins helps keep those funds on the Island and supports local organizations like Scouts Canada and Camp Barnard.


 

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