Beyond the Blue Box celebrated their 30th anniversary in Cobourg on Friday, Just 22, 2022.
It was a party in Victoria Park with free hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks and cupcakes from noon till 4 p.m.
Along with the food, there was live music at the bandshell for the afternoon.
Beyond the Blue Box is one of Canada’s longest-standing and most successful community-based waste-reduction and reuse centres.
For 30 years, it has been accepting donations of reusable items from community and diverting them from Northumberland County landfill sites. It does this by operating two stores on Covert Street in Cobourg.
With the help of community volunteers, the not-for-profit operation collects, sorts and resells donated items for prices that are just enough to cover operating costs.
Beyond the Blue Box is especially proud of the employment opportunities it provides for members of the community with developmental needs.
Since 1992, Beyond the Blue Box has diverted more than 20,000 metric tonnes of reusable material from county landfill sites, which represents a major saving for county taxpayers.
The vision of Beyond the Blue Box is to provide work, social and training opportunities for developmentally disabled individuals, while promoting reduction, re-use and recycling of water in Northumberland County.
By the numbers since 1992
2,788,740 visitors to the Covert Street location
42,612,587 pounds of waste diverted from landfill as the result of Beyond the Blue Box operations.
Over 12,000 metre tonnes.
It costs taxpyers well over $100/tonne to collect and landfill waste set out to curbside. Last year along Beyond the Blue Box diverted over 1,000 tonnes of landfill.
!00% of Beyond the Blue Box revenue is “recycled” in oru community in the form of wages, capital expenditures on the Covert Street location and other operating expenditures. What you spend in the store gets re-spend in the community.
5,000 families Beyond the Blue Box has helped through our work with Cornerstone, the Help Centre, the Salvation Army, Transition House and other community agencies.
106,713 sales made last year at Beyond the Blue Box, every one of them was a contribution to a cleaner environment, a healthier local economy and a stronger community.
160,000 hours of work volunteered by members of the community. From the friendly faces that greet you when you drop off your reusables, to the people who sort and stock the stores, to the Board of Directors, Beyond the Blue Box is all about volunteers. Neighbours helping neighbours.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
