REAPS Compost Demonstration Garden near Fort George Park   photo Facebook

Prince George, BC – A spring cleaning of sorts as REAPS gets set to host its annual general meeting this afternoon…

The Recycling and Environmental Action Planning Society is into its 24th year in Prince George, and Executive Director, Terry McClymont, says today’s AGM is a great opportunity for interested city residents to find out what’s happening in the community recycling-wise.

McClymont points to some of last year’s highlights:

• 1100 calls to the REAPS’ hotline
• 2200 visitors to the REAPS demonstration garden on Gorse Street, near Fort George Park, between May and August
• 226 school presentations, involving more than 5,000 participants
• 146 community presentations and garden workshops with more than 3300 participants
• 35 summer camps with more than 1600 participants
• more than 1500 kilograms of food waste collected from local businesses

McClymont says the demand for REAPS keeps growing, her challenge is to try and meet that demand based on the number of staff she’s able to secure through grants.  The Executive Director says a lot of her time is spent fundraising and writing grant applications.  The Regional District of Fraser Fort George is a major donor – just approving a grant of $74-thousand dollars.  With the 2013 budget to be approved today pegged at $174-thousand dollars, McClymont says she’ll raise the remaining $100-thousand through grants from organizations like Science World and the Pacific Salmon Foundation; federal initiatives like ‘Get Youth Working’; and in-kind donations.

McClymont is sending out a huge thank you to all of REAPS’ sponsors and supporters and says today’s meeting at the Bob Harkins branch of the library begins at 2pm and is open to all.  As part of the AGM, REAPS will be screening the documentary, ‘Addicted to Plastic’, which focuses on the worldwide production and environmental impacts of plastics.