A Penticton woman spearheaded a relentless recycling campaign which saw $3,000 donated to Boston Terrier Rescue Canada (BTRC).
Karla Brandt said winning the Febreze Frenzy recycling contest has made her even more conscious of how recycling can benefit the community.
“Like this event or bottle drives,” she said. “People don’t always realize the value in their garbage and what it can do to help those in need.”
In partnership with its title sponsor, the Febreze Frenzy was organized by TerraCycle Canada, which is a waste management company that focuses on environmental stewardship.
The contest challenged participants to collect non-traditional recyclable items, such as cookie and cracker wrappers, coffee containers, home cleaning waste and the packaging of home care products, including air care cartridges and Swiffer wipes.
The contest was held throughout Canada, and recyclables that were collected had to be shipped to TerraCycle’s headquarters in Toronto.
“Karla and the BTRC volunteers took a very smart approach to win this contest,” said Vanessa Farquharson, communications manager at TerraCycle. “Instead of simply collecting used Swiffer packs and bottle caps in their homes, they involved their local communities, rallied everyone they knew on social media and ultimately convinced dog lovers across the country to join in this effort. Karla is passionate about helping the environment, too, and I’m sure that made it all the more rewarding for her to participate.”
In addition to collecting the permitted recyclables that she could from her friends and family, Brandt reached out to the community in many ways – such as appealing to animal lovers through a collection station she arranged at Bosley’s Pet Food Plus.
In total, BTRC collected 3,475 units of recyclables which totalled 187.65 pounds.
That was more than 1,000 units ahead of the runner up, which was a school in Toronto. That team gathered 2,298 units for a total of 124.092 pounds.
Brandt said the $3,000 will support veterinary expenses for the dogs that are in BTRC’s care.
“BTRC is 100 per cent funded by donations and fundraising events. This is a substantial amount from just one fundraiser, but we have an amazing crew of volunteers that attend and host events across Canada.”
As a strong supporter of BTRC, Bosley’s supports the cause monthly by offering a nail trim the second Thursday of every month from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., with all proceeds supporting the charity.