Recycling Council of Alberta recognizes Barry Friesen with Circular Champion Recognition Award

LETHBRIDGE, Alberta, Oct. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) today announced it is honouring recently retired Cleanfarms Executive Director Barry Friesen with its prestigious Rs of Excellence Circular Champion Recognition Award. This award reflects Friesen’s career-long commitment to building a more sustainable, circular future in Canadian agriculture.

Friesen and other award recipients will be recognized at the RCA Annual General Meeting, held online from 10:30 a.m. to noon on November 6, 2026.

Says Friesen: “I’m very proud to be part of this transformative industry, and to receive this honour from the RCA: one of the great champions of circular economy in Canada, playing a pivotal role in job creation while helping to keep our environment clean.”

“It’s fitting this announcement coincides with Waste Reduction Week," says Cleanfarms Executive Director Shane Hedderson. “During Barry’s tenure, Alberta’s small container program—the first in Canada—grew significantly along with other programs across the province and country. Barry has dedicated his career to improving waste diversion efforts for Canadians, both on and off the farm, and all of us at Cleanfarms are proud of Barry for this well-earned award.”

RCA Executive Director Jenn Koole added: “We’re delighted to recognize Barry’s remarkable contributions to agricultural recycling in Alberta. Through his leadership in producer responsibility and agricultural plastics recovery, he helped build programs and partnerships keeping valuable materials out of landfills. That’s a legacy that lives on in recycling systems and agricultural stewardship here in Alberta and beyond.”

ABOUT THE RECYCLING COUNCIL OF ALBERTA (RCA) AND CLEANFARMS

The RCA’s mission is to advance the Circular Economy in Alberta. Its prestigious Rs of Excellence awards recognize people and organizations doing exceptional work to advance waste reduction and the circular economy in Alberta.

Cleanfarms is an agricultural producer responsibility organization that contributes to a healthier environment and a sustainable future by recovering and recycling agricultural and related industry plastics, packaging and products. It is funded by its members in the crop protection, seed, fertilizer, animal health medication, peat moss, animal bedding, feed, ag plastics, and maple tubing industries. Its team members are located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

Contact: Margot Beverley, Director, Communications, Cleanfarms
beverleym@cleanfarms.ca | (647) 557-1801

Barry Friesen, P.Eng., Cleanfarms Executive Director (retired)

Barry Friesen, Recipient of RCA’s Rs of Excellence Circular Champion Recognition Award alongside a sample of empty, used agricultural containers collected and ready for recycling under the Cleanfarms program.