A guide to the new home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Investors Group Field
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/134319
GET READY TO PLAY HERE TO SERVE BLUE KEEPING IT GREEN The Winnipeg Football Club has teamed up with the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) to encourage Blue Bombers fans to pitch in to help Investors Group Field and the community. "The old stadium was the first large-scale sports facility we partnered with for this program," said Friesen. "The effort to promote away-from-home recycling has not been done on this scale before." In-stadium advertising, including signage and public announcements, will remind fans of the value of recycling and encourage them to use any of the 240 recycling bins found in all areas of the new facility, including the concourse, offices and locker rooms. The partnership is building on the beverage container recycling program that began in 2011 and will continue into the new stadium where fans will once again be reminded to place 'WE WANT TO their empty beverage containers MAKE AWAY-FROMin specially-marked recycling bins located around the facility. "We want to make away-from-home recycling commonplace and make Investors Group Field a model stadium for cities across the country," said CBCRA executive director, Ken Friesen. HOME RECYCLING COMMONPLACE.' Organizers say 30 to 35 per cent of all beverages are consumed away from home, so recycling efforts must continue beyond your front door. Friesen said CBCRA has a five-year plan to achieve its provincially-mandated goal of a 75 per cent recovery rate of all beverage containers sold in Manitoba. That is what the "Recycle Everywhere" program is all about. The program will make it easier and more convenient for fans to recycle their drink containers, a move that will help reduce litter at Investors Group Field, while also contributing to community environmental stewardship. The organization's efforts are already getting noticed, not just by fans and Bomber staff, but also by other jurisdictions looking to adopt similar programs. "We have had a lot of interest in the program from other provinces, the U.S. and even parts of Europe," said Friesen. "Manitoba is the only province in Canada with a permanent, provincewide, away-from-home, beverage recycling program." Friesen said he is "very optimistic" about the anticipated success of the program at Investors Group Field. "With great partners like the Bombers," he said, "it will be that much easier to get people to do the right thing with their beverage containers." The CBCRA is a non-profit organization formed and supported by beverage companies including soft drink, energy drink, water, juice and milk producers. Its goal is to boost recycling rates of their product containers. Proud to be a part of the Stuart Olson Dominion team, as suppliers of all the Glass and Aluminum in Investors Group Field 31