By MorinvilleNews.com Staff
Morinville – A farmer’s market may seem like an unlikely place to learn about the environmental benefits of getting an old clunker off the road, but that is precisely the message the Retire Your Ride program brought to town last Friday.
Scott Cunningham, a representative of Climate Change Central, set up his spinning wheel game board in front of the Morinville Public Library, drawing more than one passerby to give the wheel a spin to win some program-related material. But while everyone who spun Cunnigham’s wheel won a prize, Climate Change Central believes we are all winners when 20th century automobiles are removed from the road.
“We’re offering people an incentive to recycle vehicles that are 1995 and older because they pollute almost 20 times more than a newer vehicle,” Cunningham said. “As long as the vehicle is ’95 and older, in running condition and registered and insured for the last six months; you receive one of three rewards. They are a year worth of bus passes in Edmonton or Calgary, $600 towards an electric bike or $500 towards a regular bike. And the last reward is $300 cash.”
But the program isn’t hoping that everyone will trade in their car for bus passes or pedal power. Cunningham explained that exhaust restrictions were put in place in 2004, making newer vehicles less impactful on the environment than older models.
“We’re trying to get all the old exhausts off the road to reduce greenhouse gases,” he said, noting that the Retire Your Ride program also partners with some automobile dealerships. People trading in an old vehicle for a new one can receive up to $3,300 towards the purchase price.
In the program’s first 15 months 4,198 vehicles were permanently retired in Alberta, 62,556 nationwide.
For more information on the program, visit www.retireyourride.ca.
