The executive director of the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) says there is room to improve when it comes to recycling. Ken Friesen of Steinbach this week announced some new initiatives, together with the province, to improve from the current level of 65 percent participation. He says one initiative is aimed at owners of commercial properties like strip malls.

"In a lot of cases, the commercial sites don't have the appropriate kinds of bins and CBCRA provides those bins at no costs to the businesses. Commercial businesses can simply go to

Ken Friesenthe website, sign up for whichever kind of bins they'd like and then the bins are shipped out to them, again, at no cost to them. Their commitment is to ensure that the bins are used for beverage container recycling and that a local recycler picks it up from them."

Friesen adds staff at the CBCRA is available to give advice on which containers are appropriate for a given location.

David Banman of Steinbach, who owns properties like Town Square, says it's something he will look into.

"I think it's a great idea. The upside is large and there really isn't much investment there other than putting the bins up and making sure they get taken care of. There are a couple of properties, off the top of my head, that would probably benefit from it. We'll definitely take a look at it and investigate a little bit further."

Meanwhile, Friesen says another new initiative pertains to all cottage owners and people with seasonal campsites in Manitoba.

"They'll receive a collapsible bin bag. Typically they'll receive it through their cottage association. They'll have it in their cottage, in their cabin, can place their empty beverage containers into there, can simply pick it up and take it home with them or, depending where they are, there are recycling depots, dump it and take the bin bag back to the cabin."

Friesen says Steinbach is an exemplary city to the rest of the world when it comes to recycling and litter.

"The litter auditing company, which has done lots of litter audits across North America, not only in Canada, has never found any place as clean as Steinbach. And it's consistently year-over-year which is great. As a resident of Steinbach, I'm proud of the fact that Steinbach is so litter-free."

He adds, while there's always room to improve, it's important to recognize the commitment of residents to keeping the city looking at its best.