Be a community hero AND raise funds for your class or school
Divert NS is awarding a total of $5,000 in cash prizes to primary and secondary students and schools in Nova Scotia for organizing a bottle drive in their community! Prizes include:
- Six $500 cash prizes to the class or school that collects the most refundable beverage containers in each Region
- One $1,500 grand cash prize to the class or school that collects the most refundable beverage containers within the province
- One $500 cash prize for best community hero-themed team photo
Money raised and cash prizes can be used for classroom or school resources such as school supplies, sports team equipment, school field trips, playground equipment, green team projects, breakfast programs, or any school fundraiser.
How to be a Community Hero
Organizing a bottle drive is a GREAT way to fundraise for your school. Not to mention it’s a win-win-win: You keep the refund for the beverage containers collected, you’re helping to keep Nova Scotia clean by recycling responsibly PLUS you have a chance to win even more money from Divert NS!
Here’s how to participate in the contest:
- Organize a team and plan your drive: Whether it’s your class, school club, or the whole school, get a team together and decide on how you will be collecting the refundable beverage containers. Options could include:
- Host day(s) at your school for your community members to drop off their containers.
- Collect empty containers at big events happening at your school or within your community such as sports events or fundraisers.
- Go out into the community to collect containers. Please note that if you decide to go door to door to collect containers, make sure to stay organized and safe, have a parent or teacher present, and let your community know you’re coming.
Please note that every team must get permission from their school to participate and must have a teacher or parent representative (18 +).
- Contact your nearest Enviro-Depot: Before you start collecting containers, get in touch with your nearest Enviro-Depot and let them know you are participating in the Divert NS Community Heroes School Bottle Drive Contest. Confirm logistics such as when you will be returning your containers and ask what the Enviro-Depot will need from you when returning.
- Promote your bottle drive within your community: Let your community know about your bottle drive including how, when, and where you will be collecting containers, and what the funds will be used for. You can use social media, websites, posters, flyers—whatever it takes to get the word out. Download this promotional kit that includes tips and ideas for promoting, a sample poster, and graphics you can use for your promotional materials.
- Collect the containers: Check out this handy guide to learn what is accepted at Enviro-Depots for a refund and what is not. Encourage your community to rinse their containers and to not crush their containers.
- Don’t forget to take an epic team photo to submit to the contest for a chance to win the Best Community Hero Team Photo prize!
- Return your containers to the Enviro-Depot: Bring all containers collected to the Enviro-Depot and collect your refund! Make sure to note how many containers are collected in total for your submission form.
- Submit your bottle drive details to Divert NS: Head back to Divert NS website and submit details about your bottle drive for a chance to win cash prizes for your classroom or school.
Contest Opens: Nov 5, 2024 Contest Closes: Dec 15, 2024
Do a bottle drive in your community and submit the details here by midnight on December 15 for a chance to win!
The Power is in Your Hands
Nova Scotia’s Deposit-Refund Program for beverage containers applies to all ready-to-serve beverage containers purchased in Nova Scotia with some exceptions. Divert NS manages the program and partners with independently and locally owned Enviro-Depots across the province, who collect beverage containers and pay the refunds on our behalf.
The benefits of recycling your beverage containers at an Enviro-Depot include:
- Preserves high quality resources (since the containers don’t mingle with other waste)
- Creates local jobs and stimulates the circular economy in Nova Scotia
- Rescues resources that could otherwise end up in landfill
- Provides the community an incentive to recycle
- Saves 22,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year
With your help, we can divert over 450 million beverage containers every year from landfills. The power is in your hands.