The Ridge Meadows Recycling Society is inviting the community to join them in celebrating their 50th anniversary.
50 Years of Recycling Evolution will include dinner, dancing, and a series of special presentations.
In 1972, a group of like-minded environmentalists started a small recycling program in Maple Ridge after being inspired by a visit to the very first Earth Day event.
They built their first recycling collection depot in a backyard shed and would later move it to donated buildings by the Cottonwood Landfill.
This group of people would eventually evolve into the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society that now operates the custom-designed Maple Ridge Recycling Depot in partnership with the City of Maple Ridge.
From the depot runs a fleet of curbside recycling trucks that visit more than 24,000 homes per week in the community.
This is the history that the society want to celebrate with a gourmet dinner and gala catered by Sunflower Cafe and chef Chris Janowski.
“We are so excited to have the event catered by the Sunflower Cafe. The Sunflower Cafe is a new, hidden gem in Maple Ridge that has been created with the same level of vision and tenacity as our early founders,” said Ridge Meadows Recycling Society board member Kathi Halpin.
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After the mean there will be special presentations, live music and dancing with special guests, the James Thorhaug Band.
Thorhaug was an early employee of Ridge Meadows Recycling in the early 1980’s.
“To see how far the Recycling Society has come, how much it’s grown, is really incredible,” noted Thorhaug.
“It’s amazing to think the whole thing was started just by volunteers,” he added.
50 Years of Recycling Evolution takes place on Friday, Oct. 28 at Whonnock Lake Centre at 27871 113 Ave. in Maple Ridge.
Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by calling 604-463-5545.
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