Prince George wins Environmental Leadership Award.

The Salvation Army in Prince George, British Columbia, under the leadership of Captains Neil and Crystal Wilkinson opened a new recycling warehouse in April 2012. While the two previous thrift store locations had been recycling on a smaller scale for many years, the new recycling warehouse allowed the Army inPrince Georgeto expand and improve their recycling operations to better meet the needs of the community.

While the warehouse continues to accept donations of gently used items that can be sold in the local thrift store, they also accept donations of all end of life items. This includes all textiles, footwear, electronics, mixed paper and metals. Since April 1st, the new recycling centre has diverted over 1.5 million pounds of textiles from the landfill. The revenue generated through sustainable efforts provides much needed financial support to the Prince George Community Ministries, which includes the city’s primary food bank, bread line, Operation Hunger Relief and so much more.

The new recycling centre and the increased “greening” of the corps’ Red Shield has not gone unnoticed. On October 20th, the Prince George Salvation Army beat out six local businesses, including three other finalists, to win the Prince George Chamber of Commerce’s Environmental Leadership Award. This is the first time The Salvation Army has received this award, which is one of ten Business Excellence Awards that the Chamber awards to local businesses every year. In winning this award, the Prince George Corps beat out local businesses with an established track record of environmental leadership in their community. This award formally acknowledges that The Salvation Army is now a major player in the green movement in Prince George. After 91 years of operation in BC’s Northern Capital, The Salvation Army Prince George continues to find new and creative ways to fulfill the needs of the community in a diverse and ever-changing city where new challenges appear every day.