Scrap drive turns old metal into more than $30,000 for local healthcare
There was a lot of old metal hauled into ABC Recycling over the summer, and by the time it was all weighed up and counted, more than 100 tons of scrap had turned into $30,620.78 for healthcare here in the North Peace.
The 2026 Summer Scrap Drive wrapped up earlier this month after running through July and August, with businesses, industry and residents bringing in unwanted metal in support of the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation.
“The community support was staggering. The general public alone contributed $10,971.07 to this year’s drive, an incredible show of support for local healthcare,” the Hospital Foundation wrote on Facebook while announcing the final numbers.
That support from the public was something ABC Recycling had already noticed following last year’s drive, when roughly 150 tons of donated scrap brought in $22,102.86.
This year’s $30,620.78 total came in well above what the drive collected in 2025, even if it didn’t quite reach the ambitious $50,000 target organizers had set heading into the summer.
There were some bigger contributors helping the pile grow too, with Tourmaline finishing as this year’s largest contributor after a $7,500 donation and taking home the Bischoff Trophy.
The handcrafted cowboy hat, made entirely from scrap metal by Bischoff Welding, goes to the largest contributor each year.
Northern Legendary Construction finished second this time around, with Strait taking third.
When this year’s campaign was getting underway earlier in the summer, Fort St. John Hospital Foundation executive director Megan Rader said the beauty of the fundraiser was that just about anyone could find something to contribute.
“The support we’ve seen from our community throughout the Scrap Drive has been incredible,” said Rader. “Local generous businesses like ABC Recycling that have tons of heart are the reason we can continue to provide new advanced equipment and technology to the Fort St. John Hospital.”
“We encourage everyone to get involved, whether it’s old farm equipment or that broken toaster you have stored away in the garage; it all adds up and makes a big difference right here in our community.”
The Hospital Foundation thanked ABC Recycling along with the businesses, organizations, families and individuals who brought scrap in over the summer, calling the 2026 campaign a record-breaking year.
“We are incredibly grateful to ABC Recycling for making this fundraiser possible, and to every business, organization, family, and individual who brought in scrap, made a donation, and helped make this a record-breaking year,” the Foundation wrote.
For the Hospital Foundation, the money raised through the drive goes back toward new equipment and technology at the Fort St. John Hospital, keeping the benefit of all that unwanted metal here in the North Peace.
After more than 100 tons of it found its way through the gate this summer, a lot of old scrap wound up doing something considerably more useful than sitting behind a shop, barn or garage.
Not a bad return for cleaning up the yard.
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