In 1989 Raven was started by a group of volunteers who wanted to see recycling happen in the Yukon. Thanks to those volunteers, Raven has been able to offer full recycling services to the Territory for over 20 years.

Raven is an established not-for-profit Social Enterprise that puts all proceeds back into the community, including about 20 well-paid, non-government jobs. As we do not receive direct government funding, we are a unique non-profit society committed to the environment that works very much like a business.

This means:
• we’re a non-profit society run by a volunteer board of directors (click here to review the current Raven Constitution)
• we are a business that receives no core government funding
• we offer 20 well paid private-sector-style jobs for Yukoners.
• we spend all of our ‘profits’ on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and composting activities
• we’re separate from all levels of government

WHAT IS RAVEN RECYCLING? RAVEN IS A…

Refund Depot:

• giving refunds on all ready-to-drink beverage containers sold in the Yukon, except for dairy and dairy substitutes. 

Recycling Centre: (For 'What Can I Recycle' please click here.)

• accepting and processing over 30 different household commodities for recycling.
• offering a great ‘Free Store’, where clean working items can be exchanged at no cost.
• buying scrap metals for recycling.

Community Service Provider:

• educating Yukoners about waste issues (see our Education section for all the school and office programs available).
• providing free recycling bins and containers for community events.
• offering pickup services for paper, cardboard and beverage containers from local businesses.

Private Contractor :

• administering the Yukon government Recycling Club for Children Program
• operating the gatehouse at the City of Whitehorse landfill
• providing waste audits and waste expertise to those who need it

HOW DOES RAVEN DO IT?

Raven currently subsidizes Yukon recycling, saving you tax dollars . It costs Raven about $300/tonne to handle, bale and ship most recyclables. We receive only $10-$200/tonne in return for 95% of those recyclables.

We can afford to do this as we use profits from our bottle depot business to make up for costs incurred with money losing materials. In 2011 we shipped out approximately 2640 metric tonnes of recyclables.

Funds are also spent on research, consulting, public and school education programs, and advising various levels of government about the benefits of waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling.

RAVEN RECYCLING NEEDS YOU!
Bring your cans and bottles to us!
As we use profits from our bottle depot to subsidize the processing and shipping of money losing recyclables (tin, paper, plastic etc.), the more beverage containers you bring to Raven, the more Raven can recycle. We accept donated bottles too!

Zero waste

What is Zero Waste?

Zero Waste means exactly what you think…no waste! 

Is Zero Waste Possible?
Yes. Imagine if we designed all products so that they could be reused, repaired, recycled or composted. Zero waste includes ‘recycling’ but goes beyond recycling by taking a ‘whole system’ approach to the flow of resources through society.

For more on Zero Waste please visit our Zero Waste Page.

Facts about Raven Recycling Society

The Raven Recycling Society is the central recycler in the Yukon Territory for household and commercial waste. While there are currently recycling depots all throughout the Territory and 2 material processors in the Yukon, Raven Recycling is the only recycling centre with a commitment to educating the public about the 3Rs. In addition to this, Raven has adopted Rethink as a 4th R which delves into the idea that we need to be re-evaluating our lifestyles and purchase choices in light of how we’re affecting the environment.

Established recycling initiatives, such as the corporate PaperSave pickup program, are continuously re-evaluated to improve the efficiency and quality of paper recycling in the Yukon.

Customers range from members of the general public refunding pop cans to Yukon community depots who require processing for their recyclable commodities.

An interesting quirk of the recycling trade is that the Society is one of the territory’s largest bulk exporters. In 2011, Raven shipped approximately 2640 metric tonnes of recyclables outside of the Yukon for recycling and reuse. This does not include the waste diverted through composting initiatives.

Throughout the years, Raven has established the viability of recycling, and continues to be a groundbreaker in accepting and processing new and different recyclable items.

PICKUP SERVICES

Raven Recycling offers a variety of pick up services for your business or organization.

We have services for Paper, Recyclables, and Cardboard.

Each location and/or organization has different needs and as such, we have tried to create a variety of options to suit the majority of those needs.

Large businesses/organizations

For larger businesses interested in cardboard pickups, we offer a dumpster style cardboard bin that can be picked up by a front end loader. It provides the best storage space for the price and can be picked up weekly or bi-weekly depending on volume.

For paper and/or recyclables we offer a bin exchange pick up service which allows you to place items in a bin which we would exchange out for an empty one, keeping costs down to a minimum and making things easy for all who are involved. For more information on how this systems works, please see our Papersave page or contact us here.

Medium to small businesses/organizations

For medium or smaller businesses interested in cardboard pickups, we offer either a smaller container for cardboard storage or even a small bin. These units are best for locations with very little space outdoors however, as they are emptied by hand, the cost can be higher depending on volume. Please contact us to see what might work best in your situation.

For paper and/or recyclables we offer a bin exchange pick up service which allows you to place items in a bin which we would exchange out for an empty one keeping costs down to a minimum and making things easy for all who are involved. For more information on how this systems or the cardboard container system works,

Multi-residential

As every multiresidential location is extremely different, it has been difficult for us to come up with a uniform system. At present we do have a few options for cardboard, paper, and recyclables (plastics and refundables).

For cardboard we offer a dumpster style cardboard bin that can be picked up by a front end loader or a smaller container depending on volume.

For Recyclables we have a new split bin unit which can collect both recyclables and paper in one spot. If you have very limited cardboard, this would also handle that at the same time. The units need to be placed in a location that would allow a rear loader truck to pick them up but are self contained and would require little to no maintenance with the exception of snow clearing during the winter.

For information on this bin or to discuss any other possible options that might be available please contact us and we will do our best to work with your organization/corporation to see recycling happen at your location.