ESTEVAN — SARCAN customers in Estevan can look forward to bringing their recyclables to a new, larger building later this month.
Estevan SARCAN depot manager Connie Hagel said plans for the depot are coming together. The final day at the current location, which can be found at the intersection of 13th Avenue and Sixth Street, is slated to be June 10. Then the depot will be closed for two days, and will reopen in a new building on Bourquin Road in east Estevan on June 13.
"Our staff is getting prepared. Head office is getting prepared. We're all excited to be moving," Hagel said in an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½AV.
SARCAN is running out of room in its present location, Hagel said. The depot is handling a lot more products. She described their new building as a bigger and better space, with 9,000 square feet as opposed to the 7,300 it uses at its present site. She added the new building will also be more eco-friendly.
"We'll have sprayers at each station so that we can clean each station better. The drop-and-go room is going to be better because it's a separate … room," said Hagel.
In the back, she said there will be more space for bulk orders.
SARCAN will continue to employ 10 people, including Hagel, throughout the year in Estevan. The number of workers will grow to 12 in July and August thanks to summer students.
In addition to empty beverage cans and bottles, SARCAN will continue to accept empty milk and juice jugs, Styrofoam, flex plastic and glass containers like jam jars. Items need to be clean and have their lids removed. Used electronics, paint and batteries will still be accepted.
"We're not getting rid of anything. We're still taking everything that we originally took," said Hagel.
She noted that a lot of people think that just because a container has a recycling logo on the bottom, SARCAN will take it, but the only items that generate a partial refund are beverage containers. They don't accept Ensure and Boost containers because those are considered to be meals.
Hagel asked people not to put glass bottles in bags with cans and plastic bottles for the drop and go, because people will be lifting bags up to a four-foot counter, where the bags will be placed on a conveyor belt and then drop at the end.
"There will be stuff to put your glass in, so just don't put the glass in bags, because there will be a separate conveyor belt for the glass," said Hagel.
Before the new depot opens, Hagel said everything will need to be moved from the present location to the new home, including crushers and bag stands. People from head office are scheduled to come to Estevan next week to start installing countertops, cameras and the security system.
"There's a plan," said Hagel, who is confident everything will be finished by June 13. "It's just like a well-oiled machine. There's plans and there's stuff that the staff and I need to do before. And then once we move, it's going to be like clockwork. Head office has done several moves, so they know what needs to be done, and they know how to get it done as quickly as possible."
A grand opening ceremony will likely happen, she said, but it probably won't occur immediately, because SARCAN will typically allow the staff to get settled, and there are always kinks to be worked out that are associated with a new building.
