The province’s newest and most automated SARCAN recycling depot in Warman is set to open for business on Monday, June 15.

“We’re really excited to finally be open,” ”said SARCAN Operations Director Kevin Acton in an interview at the new depot on Boucher Avenue in Warman’s south industrial area.

“We’re expecting this facility, like all the others across the province, will be very busy.

“People have been staying home for the past couple months, but they’ve been consuming beverages all that time and they’ll be wanting to bring the empty containers in for recycling.”

SARCAN depots were closed across the province on March 21 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the newly-built Warman SARCAN depot, originally scheduled to open in late March, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

But the delay provided some extra time to get all the finishing touches to the facility in place and also allow additional staff training.

“We’re definitely ready to go now,” said Acton. “We have a full-time staff of eight employees that are anxious to get the doors open.”

There’s also no shortage of customers.

SARCAN Operations Director Kevin Acton

“Every day we have a lot of people stopping by,” said Acton. “They drive up, look in the windows and they see people working in here so they knock on the door and ask when we’re going to open. So, obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of interest in the community.”

The SARCAN depot in Warman will be open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm. The facility’s ‘Drop and Go’ section will have additional extended hours. Full details, including how to register for ‘Drop and Go’ and prepare containers for recycling, are available online at www.sarcan.ca .

Acton said the decision to open Saturdays in Warman is aimed at providing additional options for residents of the area. The Martensville SARCAN location, which has been operating for the past ten years and is one of the busiest in the province, is open Monday to Friday and its ‘Drop and Go’ area is open Saturday.

Acton said the Martensville SARCAN facility processes about eight million containers a year. He expects the Warman depot to match or exceed that total.

Opening for business during a pandemic carries some challenges, but Acton said the new facility is designed to accommodate physical distancing and provide additional health protections for both customers and employees.

“The chutes are two meters apart and they’re also very wide, so there is distance between the employee and customer,” said Acton.

“We also intend to put up plexiglas barriers and other engineered safety measures just in case.”

The larger chutes for containers at the Warman depot are unique among SARCAN facilities. Two openings in the chutes allow 75 per cent of the containers that come into the depot to be handled automatically using a conveyer system.

“The aluminum cans go in one opening, and the clear plastic bottles go in the other,” said Acton. “Separate conveyer belts underneath the counter carry these cans and bottles to the rear of the building where they’re automatically flattened and dumped into large tote bags. From the bags they’re loaded directly onto trucks for shipment.”

Each chute is equipped with a spray hose for cleaning after each customer’s containers are processed. The chutes also have a simple but innovative mechanism that allows employees to pull all the containers toward them.

“When we designed the work stations, the employees provided a lot of excellent suggestions,” said Acton. “Employees in other depots said they had to use a hockey stick or squeegee to reach containers in the corners. Having something built right into the design makes a lot of sense. We’re lucky we have a lot of people with farm backgrounds who can figure out simple solutions like this.”

He said 25 per cent of the containers, such as juice boxes, milk cartons and coloured plastic bottles, are placed on a third conveyer system where they are sorted by other workers. The sorting process at this stage is simplified through the use of a rotating conveyer system that reduces repetitive motion stress for employees.

Acton said despite the abundance of machinery and moving parts, the depot is very safe.

“Everything is designed with occupational health and safety as a top priority,” he said.

Acton said the Warman depot has one other innovation that’s proven popular at other SARCAN locations.

“One end of the counter has a clear plexiglas panel that allows customers to watch the cans transferred from one conveyer belt to another,” said Acton. “It’s a highlight for the kids especially. It keeps them entertained.”

Acton said all the materials collected at SARCAN depots are recycled at various plants within North America. No material is shipped overseas.