--- title: "Augmented Reality App Tries to Make Recycling Exciting" id: "34548" type: "post" slug: "augmented-reality-app-tries-to-make-recycling-exciting" published_at: "2016-08-10T21:16:11+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T17:13:34+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/08/10/augmented-reality-app-tries-to-make-recycling-exciting/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/08/10/augmented-reality-app-tries-to-make-recycling-exciting.md" excerpt: "The Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association’s new app doesn’t allow you to collect Pokémon, but its idea—which predates the buzzy app—has the potential to ride the mobile game’s wave of success." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Augmented Reality" - "Environmental Scans" - "recycling" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Augmented Reality App Tries to Make Recycling Exciting Think Pokémon Go, but for recycling. That’s exactly what one association did. The [Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cbcra-acrcb.org/) recently launched a mobile application to make recycling rewarding and more enjoyable. The app, called [Recycling Starts Here (opens in a new tab)](http://startshere.ca/) , is an augmented-reality application with which users have a chance to win prizes during a monthlong contest, aimed to get people out and about to take pride in recycling. “The Recycling Starts Here contest app is part of our mission to find new and interesting ways to encourage Manitobans of all ages to recycle all their empty beverage containers,” Director of the CBCRA Ken Friesen [said in a news release (opens in a new tab)](http://www.recycleeverywhere.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Recycle-Everywhere-AR-App-NEWS-RELEASEaugFINALb.pdf) [PDF]. The nonprofit association, launched in 2010 to represent beverage-brand owners and distributors, [is aiming to meet (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cbcra-acrcb.org/manitoba-faqs) the Manitoban government’s mandated goal of recycling 75 percent of bottles and cans in the Canadian province. This app’s strategy to help meet that goal is to make recycling exciting. ### Game On Participants [have to download the application (opens in a new tab)](http://waste360.com/plastics/canadian-beverage-container-recycling-association-launches-recycle-everywhere-app-contest) onto their phones or tablets—either iOS or Android—and spot four special Recycle Everywhere bins in public locations in Manitoba’s capital city, Winnipeg. “We want the app to be a fun and interactive way for Manitobans to be rewarded for recycling during the summer months,” Friesen said. The contest ends on September 30 this year. Participants can win immediate prizes, such as autographed Winnipeg Blue Bombers jerseys, game tickets, duffel bags, and baseball hats. There’s also a five-night stay in a cabin at Falcon Trails Resort. Grand prizes include a trip for two to Churchill, Manitoba, valued at $3,000, along with activities while on the trip. “Once users have found and interacted with these four bins, they’re automatically entered to win the grand prize, which is a trip for two to Churchill to see the Beluga Whales,” Communications Manager of CBCRA and Recycle Everywhere, Arielle Gurevich, [said to Metro (opens in a new tab)](http://www.metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/2016/08/04/manitoba-app-encourages-recycling.html) . ### Augmented-Reality Innovation Scanning away, users have to find the four branded bins in order to get a chance at winning the grand prize. Then, for tagging other unmarked recycling bins through the app, users can also nab instant prizes. [But is it a lot like Pokémon Go?](https://associationsnow.com/2016/07/tuesday-buzz-pokemon-go-time/) Yes, with the augmented-reality technology enabling the mobile camera to show in-picture images of the real world through the application, it is. But the CRCBA gets the kudos this time around. Gurevich told *Metro* that the association and Recycle Everywhere “came up with this app idea prior to Pokémon Go coming out.” (startshere.ca screenshot) [Patrick deHahn](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/) Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/) Tags: [#Augmented Reality](https://associationsnow.com/tag/augmented-reality/) [#Environmental Scans](https://associationsnow.com/tag/environmental-scans/) [#recycling](https://associationsnow.com/tag/recycling/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: More Than Marketing: The Power of Strategic CommunicationsJuly 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/30/associations-now-presents-more-than-marketing-the-power-of-strategic-communications/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Why Slower Marketing Can Drive Stronger Member Engagement (Episode 27)June 25, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/06/25/associations-now-presents-why-slower-marketing-can-drive-stronger-member-engagement-episode-27/) - [TemplateMembers onlyGreen Data Center CodeApril 8, 2009](https://associationsnow.com/2009/04/08/green-data-center-code/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F08%2F10%2Faugmented-reality-app-tries-to-make-recycling-exciting%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !